We were ‘too nervous’ against Tottenham – Wenger

Joe Williams

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits he is disappointed to only get a point from the north London derby as his side was held to a 1-1 draw with Tottenham on Sunday.

Spurs striker Harry Kane equalised from the spot in the 51st-minute after the Gunners had taken the lead just before half-time through a Kevin Wimmer own-goal.

Wenger thought his side looked “laboured” in the second period and wanted to see more “vision” from his team.

“It is disappointing to drop two points at home. We created plenty of chances in dangerous situations,” Wenger told the BBC.

“In the second half we looked more laboured, there were plenty of aspects I did not like, the desire was there but we were too nervous.

“We lacked what we are strong at; the fluency of movement, vision around the box. We usually play better from the back, there was a lot missing.

“Spurs go home happy, we go home and are not happy. We wanted to win the game, but overall it is not mathematically a disaster.”

On the Tottenham penalty, Wenger added: “From the outside it looked a very soft penalty, I was surprised.”

 

Wenger on Tottenham formation

Wenger insisted Tottenham’s formation did not unsettle his players.

“We know how to play against a back three, we knew they could play with a back three,” Wenger said.

“That was not the basic problem.”

The Gunners finished both halves the stronger but lacked their usual precision in the final third. Mesut Ozil was influential again but Alexis Sanchez, in particular, was noticeably quiet.

“We were quite dangerous in the first half and created dangerous situations in the second,” Wenger said.

“We gave everything but were not as sharp physically as we can be in the final part of the game.”