Wenger vows not to change Arsenal philosophy

Rob Conlon
Arsene Wenger: Looks set to retain full control at Arsenal

Arsene Wenger: Looks set to retain full control at Arsenal

Arsene Wenger admits that Arsenal’s attacking philosophy does not aid his defenders but has vowed not to change the team’s style.

Supporters have started to voice their frustration at Wenger’s failure to address the Gunner’s defensive problems, which have persistently thwarted their trophy chances over the last decade.

But the Frenchman insists Arsenal would have competed better this term had his players converted more of their chances.

“I don’t think you can pretend to be a big club and say we only want to defend. We have that responsibility and we have to stand up for that and continue to develop the quality of our game,” Wenger said.

“It doesn’t mean we have to change our style. It means we have to be better in the style we play. We had a big differential this season between the number of chances we created at home and the number of goals we scored. That was not the case last year.

“We had created two expected goals per game last year at home and this season we created 2.5 per game. Last season we scored 114 per cent of the expected goals we scored and this year we scored 55 per cent of the expected goals we scored.

“As long as the team sits back and waits for you to come out and you do not score they never come out. The defensive quality of the teams has become more efficient.

“Look at Manchester City , they take the game the opponent. So do Chelsea , but they all drop points by doing that.

“When we felt we were less under pressure we dropped more points against teams in the second half of the table than the top half.”