Wenger praises young side and thanks United for send-off

Arsene Wenger was full of praise for his young Arsenal side after his final trip to Manchester United as Gunners boss ended in an agonising 2-1 defeat.

With Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second-leg clash against Atletico Madrid in mind, Wenger made several changes. And it looked like the scratch side would earn Arsenal’s first away point of the season when Henrikh Mkhitaryan cancelled out Paul Pogba’s opener.

But Marouane Fellaini headed a dramatic 92nd-minute winner that secures a top-four finish for United while confirming Arsenal will finish outside the Champions League qualification places.

He said: “It was a positive performance and overall it reflects a little bit our away season. We have chances and special counter-attacks. We did not always use well the opportunities we had but overall the team performance was positive for such a young team.

“It was very positive but of course we are very disappointed in the dressing room because we gave everything.

“In the last 20 minutes, some players were not used to that kind of intensity and pace and we looked a bit more under threat. In the first 70 minutes, we didn’t look in danger at all.”

On the warm reception he received, Wenger added: “Very nice, it’s classy and you enjoy it. I have come here for a long, long time and next year somebody else will be on the bench and will get a very hostile reception as well, don’t worry!”