Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says that the Gunners exited the Champions League “under special circumstances”, and would have beaten Bayern Munich if only first halves counted!
Really Arsene? It that what you really think as I cannot believe that you are that delusional.
Arsenal were knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage for the seventh consecutive season in February, losing 10-2 on aggregate toBayern.
But Wenger suggests that the Gunners lost “under special circumstances” – those apparently being that they would have gone through on aggregate had only first halves counted.
They were drawing 1-1 with Bayern at half-time in the first leg at the Allianz Arena, and were winning 1-0 (having lost the first leg 5-1) at the break in the second leg.
“No team is absolutely consistent on the mental and physical front. Every team suffers a moment in the season,” the manager said.
“I think we suffered a lot when we went out of the Champions League under special circumstances.
“If you look at just the first halves, we would have qualified.
Asked about whether arsenal can catch Liverpool for the final Champions League place, Wenger seemed to indicate that whether the Gunners come in fourth or fifth, that this has been a good season:
“Would 75 points be progress? I don’t want to go into conclusions too early but it shows that if we can make 75 points it is good because I won the championship with 78.
“You had basically two leagues, with the top six and everyone else.”
Wenger is right in that historically, 75 points was enough to guarantee a top four finish. Manchester City came in fourth last season with 66 points. But with the arrival of the super coaches last season (Pep, Conte, Mourinho) to go with Wenger, Klopp and Pochettino, it was clear from the start of the season that the top teams would win more than they had in previous years. It just sounds like Wenger did not adjust to the new landscape in the Premier League.
