Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger reflects upon his hardest season to date – Premier League news
Arsenal’s longest serving manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that the 2011 season of the Premier League was arguably his hardest season since joining the Gunners in 1996.
The Frenchman tirelessly built an empire in his tenure. Ever since the Gunners’ FA Cup win in 2005, the club has undergone a rigorous rebuilding exercise. However, it appears that the empire fell down like a house of cards yet again as the North Londoners
have failed to put an end to their trophy drought for six straight seasons now.
The 2011 edition of the Premier League looked full of promise for Arsenal. The Gunners got off to an excellent start and went on to continue their pursuit of the domestic league crown for the better part of the season.
The Gunners reached the final of the Carling Cup against Birmingham City but failed to kill off the game and ended up conceding late. They reached the last 16’s of the UEFA Champions League and after a spirited comeback at home which ended 2-1 to the English
side, lost on aggregate at the end of the return fixture at Camp Nou against Barcelona. Soon after, they were knocked out of the FA Cup at the hands of Sir Alex Ferguson’s men.
Arsenal looked to focus their attention to the Premier League but even the 38-game format seems to have asked one question too many- 1 win in 5 games in April 2011 has dampened their hopes of challenging Manchester United for the title.
The Frenchman commented, “It is certainly the year when I have worked the hardest,” said Wenger. “Every year has been tough but for the team it has been the toughest. Over the last five years this has been the highest quality we have produced. We have nothing
to be ashamed of [in] our performance.”
The Arsenal manager concluded, “We have not lost against a low level team. So I give this team a lot of credit. We have battled on all fronts and we have produced quality. We just couldn’t finish the job.”
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