Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, has commended Hull City goalkeeper, Eldin Jakupovic for his heroic performance against the Gunners at the Emirate Stadium on Saturday.
Wenger’s men were held to a barren draw by the championship side just two days ahead of their first leg, knock out stage champions league game against Barcelona, who defeated Las Palmas 2-1 in Saturday’s Spanish League game.
The French man said the Gunners were unable to beat their opponents because they were fantastic defensively.
“Because Hull defended well, because their ‘keeper played well, because our final ball was maybe not good enough and because when we could give the ball in the final third, we decided [to go for] an individual solution.”
“The goalkeeper did well of course, but we had maybe 70 per cent possession and more than 20 shots on goal, and we didn’t score. We have to look at ourselves as well, even if you can give credit to their ‘keeper.”
“The nightmare would have been to go out. The frustration is that we didn’t score and it’s not what we wanted, to have a replay, but between that and going out, we choose the replay. I am happy for the replay [as opposed to going out]. We need to be more efficient in the final third, because today we had more than 70 per cent possession and we will not have that on Tuesday night. That means we’ll have to be more efficient with much less of the ball.”
“I played a team that, in my opinion, had the quality to win the game today. The Barcelona game was not in my mind today. I rested Ramsey and Ozil completely, because they’ve played many games since the start of the season. When I can do it, I do it. Mesut Ozil was a bit sick over the week, so I decided to leave him out completely. Ramsey has played many games, so that’s why I kept him out.”
“A shame? No, because that would mean that the players in the squad are not good enough, which I don’t think [is true]. If you look at the players that played in our team, Ospina, Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, they are all internationals, [as are] Elneny, Flamini, then yes, Iwobi. People want you to give a chance to young players. When you play them, they say ‘it’s a shame’. Up front we had Walcott, Welbeck and Campbell, all internationals. People always want you to buy more and more players. When you play them, they say ‘why did you play them?’ I think the team was of quality and that’s not an excuse.”
“If we don’t have injuries, I think we can cope with it. If we get two or three injuries, then it will be much more difficult for us.”
When asked if Ozil will be ok for Tuesday, Wenger confirmed that the German international will be on ground for the Barcelona clash.
“No, from today I believe the positive of the day is that Welbeck came through quite well. He started for the first time in 10 months and he was one of the positives of the day.”
“A cold. It’s nothing major.”
“I am not as relaxed as I look! Honestly, [if I were] nervous or angry, it wouldn’t change the result. I would be if it would change the result. It’s not what we planned but in football it doesn’t always go like that. It’s how you respond and how you find the solution to what we face now. It means we have to go to Hull and we have to qualify.”
“No, I said I like the English formula because it’s a little bit special. I like the idea that in England you don’t do things like anywhere else. That’s why you negotiate in Brussels at the moment as well!”
He also confirmed he isn’t sure when the replay of the game would be but insists that they will be fine without injuries.
“I was excited about the game today but of course, it’s an exciting game. We were the favourites today but we won’t be on Tuesday night. On Tuesday night, we’ll need great solidarity because we’ll need to defend well, and make the maximum of our possession, which we didn’t do today.”
“Of course we’ll try to win this game. I want to go home now because they play at 5.30 and I want to watch it.”
