Arsene Wenger defends roster changes after Wigan shocker
Arsenal’s performances are erratic to say the least. One minute they are thrashing the English champions, the next they are dropping points to teams which seem destined for relegation.
The Gunners stumbled to their third draw of the season after their match against Wigan at the DW Stadium finished 2-2. Perhaps some of the blame could be attached to manager Arsene Wenger’s questionable team changes. The Gunners boss had opted to rest many
of the players which featured in their 3-1 victory over Chelsea on Monday.
However, Wenger defended his choice, saying, “I would have preferred to play against the team that played against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 and it would have been practically impossible for them to have recovered. I had to change the team - with all these matches we cannot
play always with the same team - but I don't think that was a problem at all.”
The Arsenal boss insisted that the roster changes were irrelevant to the disappointing result. Wenger gave rare starts to Emmanuel Eboue, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Abou-Diaby-c3453 also got his first start in weeks. Apart
from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Laurent-Koscielny-c21742, the Arsenal team that faced Wigan was completely unrecognisable from the one that defeated Chelsea on Monday.
The gamble seemed to have paid off. The Gunners led 2-1 in the second half, with a one-man advantage after http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Charles-c8808 N’Zogbia was sent off. However, Sebastien Squillaci’s own goal in the 81st brought the home side on level pegging. Arsenal surged
forward in the dying minutes in the hopes of securing all three points but were unable to find a winner.
The result saw Arsenal squander a glorious opportunity to draw level on points with joint leaders Manchester United and Manchester City. As it stands, Arsenal sit in third place, 2 points off the pace. Arsene Wenger claims he isn’t too worried, saying, “It
is a point and we will see at the end of the season how important it is. I don't think it's a shame - overall the draw was all right.”
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