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Arsène Wenger
Wenger: 'We did not expect to lose like that'
On some controversial refereeing decisions…
Two kinds of people can be unhappy; those who love Arsenal and those who love football can be frustrated with the referee's decisions. When he made the decision it was a very promising game, very interesting. That’s the regret. We lost against a very good Barcelona side, congratulations to them and good luck for the future. We have many regrets tonight because we didn’t expect to lose the game like that. I feel sorry for people who watched the game tonight.
On Robin van Persie’s sending off…
If you have played football at a certain level, you cannot understand the decision. I cannot imagine that someone who has played football, in a game of that importance, makes that decision at the moment he did. Even if he heard the whistle, I still don’t understand the decision. People who have played football will never accept a decision like that. It killed a promising, fantastic football match. What for? If it’s a bad tackle and a second-bookable offence then OK.
On whether Arsenal would have won the game with 11 men…
Yes. I felt Barcelona gave a lot in the first half where we were completely dominated, I agree with that. But in the second half, you felt there was more space and, I knew, like in the first game, we would come back into the game. I am convinced we would have won this game.
On Wojciech Szczesny’s injury…
[It’s] a dislocated finger. We have to check the tendon and see how much damage is done.
On not having a shot on target…
Once we were down to ten men it was very difficult. We had a very difficult first half. Barcelona played, a little bit, a poker game by giving absolutely everything in the first half. After that, it became difficult with ten men against eleven. I feel Barcelona are good enough to win in a normal way against anybody. You want to be given a chance to play a normal football match. Everybody has the same regret in our dressing room.
On having a lot to play for this season…
How big is the blow? We don’t know. That depends on our response on Saturday at Manchester United.
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