Thursday, January 10, 2008

Tottenham Made Us Suffer




Wenger, who opted to field a youthful side in the match, as has become the routine in the domestic cups in recent seasons, felt that his side suffered from fatigue due to the FA Cup third-round tie against Burnley last weekend.

He was, however, satisfied with the performance which saw The Gunners extend their unbeaten run against their North-London rivals to twenty-one games.

"Arsenal [leave happier] because we suffered tonight, I feel we gave a lot against Burnley on Sunday, and we had not completely recovered physically," he told Sky Sports 1.

"But overall we still came back from 1-0 down under difficult circumstances. It puts us in a good position to qualify at White Hart Lane.

"Tottenham played well. They had more chances than we had. It was more down to us to dig deep. For me it's a positive result."

When asked whether he would be tempted to field some of his big-name players such as Fabregas, Wenger reiterated that he would resist the urge as he goes in search of his first Carling Cup trophy as Arsenal manager and would instead persist with the less-experienced team that has served him well so far in the competition.

“We have made decisions that will stand for the second leg. I am convinced we can do it," he added.

One surprise inclusion on the team-sheet was that of Polish international goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, fuelling rumours that former number-one Jens Lehmann was finalising his move to German side Borussia Dortmund.

Wenger, though, rejected the claims and stated that any deal to end the 38-year old’s stay at Arsenal is yet to be concluded.

"It is not true. I deny that Jens has agreed personal terms with Dortmund and I deny that we have any agreement with Dortmund," he concluded.

While Arsenal fans may feel that their side was lucky to escape the first-leg with a draw, Wenger’s young guns once again showed that they are capable of competing at the highest level and they will be confident of progressing to the final having restricted Berbatov and company to a draw.


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