Arsenal 2-2 Paris St-Germain: No need to panic, says Arsene Wenger
Arsene Wenger says there is no
reason to panic after his Arsenal side were held to a 2-2 draw by Paris
St-Germain in the Champions League.
The result at Emirates Stadium
on Wednesday - which leaves Arsenal second in Group A - was their third
successive draw in all competitions, although they are unbeaten in 18
matches. The Frenchman said that the Gunners need to "transform draws into wins".
He added: "Sometimes you go through spells when you win a bit less."
Arsenal were 2-1 up in the second half against the French champions and seeking the win that would have put them top of Group A, but Lucas' header gave the visitors an equaliser 13 minutes from time.
In the Gunners' previous two games, they were held to draws by Tottenham and Manchester United in the Premier League.
"We have a special strength in the squad, a consistency in results," Wenger added. "We are unbeaten in 18 games. But we have to continue without losing and transform draws into wins."
Arsenal have failed to get past the last 16 of the Champions League in the past six seasons, but Wenger refused to concede his team had blown their chances of finishing top of their section after the penultimate game of the group stages.
"At the moment we are second but it's not over," said the Frenchman, whose team will conclude their group games with a trip to Basel on 6 December.
"We have a 90% chance to finish second, and we wanted to finish first. But we've not lost a game in this group.
"Overall, we've done the job well. Will we be lucky enough to finish first? I don't know, and we'd have to wait for the draw.
"You can't guess whether it's good or bad. The advantage if you finish first is to play the second game at home."
Who is through? |
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In: Arsenal, Paris St-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Monaco, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid, Leicester City, Juventus, Barcelona, Manchester City |
Out: Ludogorets, Basel, PSV Eindhoven, FC Rostov, Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb, Legia Warsaw, Tottenham, CSKA Moscow, Sporting Lisbon, Dynamo Kiev, Borussia Monchengladbach, Celtic |
Analysis - Arsenal pay price
BBC Sport chief football writer Phil McNultyThe price Arsenal will pay for not holding on to their lead is likely to be a tougher draw in the last 16.
Wenger had a resigned air post-match but the Gunners can have no complaints at drawing with an excellent PSG side under the stewardship of a real European specialist in Unai Emery, who has won the Europa League in the past three seasons with Sevilla.
Wenger will hope for a final twist when Arsenal travel to Basel and PSG face Ludogorets at home in the final round of games, but he can take satisfaction from the fact his side are in the last 16 once more.
Much is made of Arsenal's exit at that stage in each of the last six seasons, but as Tottenham proved with their demise, that sort of consistency should not be underestimated.