Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted his players lacked "maturity, experience and calm" but he stepped into the firing line after his side's 2-1 loss to Bolton, saying it is he who should be blamed.Arsenal's already-slim chances of pushing for the Premier League title were reduced to a mere mathematical possibilty after Tamir Cohen headed a late winner at Reebok Stadium on Sunday, leaving the Gunners nine points behind Manchester United and three behind Chelsea with four games to play.Wenger conceded ground in the ongoing debate over his youthful squad's mentality but he still refused to criticse them publicly, defending them to the point of sacrificing his own reputation by claiming he is at fault for the side's poor run in recent months.Wenger said: "I feel the players have had an outstanding attitude this season. They are not to blame. If somebody is to blame, it's me. I pick the team."It's very unsatisfactory because it's one of the easiest run-ins we've had for a long time and we didn't take our chances many times. That's frustrating because you feel the potential is there but you have to take your chances."We still lack maturity, experience and calm in important situations.''Wenger said there was no point giving up hope in the final few games since Arsenal are in no other competitions but he admitted that the likelihood of reeling in United was approaching miracle territory."The chances are very minimal now, that is for sure, but we have to continue to fight,'' said Wenger. "We dropped too many points today. It is very frustrating because we should have come home with nine points this week and we came back with two. It's a bit the story of our season.''
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It was a pulsating, enthralling, nail biting, entertaining football of the highest order. This could easily be the best game of EPL 2010-11 season, in terms of attacking football. There was only one tactics for both teams - Attack. Wave after wave both the teams attacked. If Arsenal had the upper hand in the first half, it was time for Spurs in second half.Arsenal scored at 5th minute of the game, only to see Spurs equalising at 7th minute. Arsenal piled on more pressure by getting 2 more goals. But Spurs equalised with a superb goal a minute before half time. In second half, it was Spurs who piled on the pressure and finally they equalised at 70th minute. Chance after chance, both the teams failed to capitalise and the game ended in 3-3 draw.End result : Fair result for both teams. But the draw meant a deadly blow to Arsenal's title chances and a boost for Manchester city for 4th position.Read Morehttp://bleacherreport.com/articles/672677-manchester-wins-battle-of-north-london-tottenham-3-3-arsenal-a-review
Sir Alex Ferguson is expecting United’s clash against Arsenal to be befitting of the pride and history of both clubs.The Reds go into Monday night’s game just a point behind the Gunners knowing a win will take them back to the Premier League summit.And although Sir Alex concedes that the rivalry between the two sides hasn’t been quite as intense since the emergence of Chelsea as a major force back in the 2004/05 campaign, he still always anticipates a match full of drama whenever the pair go up against each other.“The games, particularly four or five years ago, were so important because both of us were challenging for league titles,” said the Scot. “Chelsea have now come in and it’s been ourselves and Chelsea over the last five years.“Nonetheless, it’s Manchester United against Arsenal and the history of both teams always guarantees a match of intensity and a lot of the time, controversy.“I think Monday night’s game will be more or less the same because the pride and history of both clubs determine that.”Arsene Wenger’s side have failed to secure any silverware since triumphing over United in the 2005 FA Cup final and in recent years have received much criticism for showing a lack of battling qualities needed to grind out results.However, Sir Alex believes that’s no longer the case and considers Arsenal to be a much more mature Read More
http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2010/Dec/Sir-Alex-expects-a-classic.aspx
