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'We should have scored before the break'

Arsène Wenger spoke to the media after his side were held to a goalless draw at Sunderland on Sunday.

Here's a full transcript of what the Arsenal manager said.

on the game…
We had good cohesion and movement off the ball in the first half. In the second half we dropped physically and the game became a bit more tight because both teams had chances. In the first half, we should have run into the dressing room with the lead. Overall, that is the story of the game.

on Sunderland making things difficult…
They did. I felt a team like Sunderland is ready to fight for their lives. They never give up during the 90 minutes and they started with a bit of anxiety. We should have taken advantage of their level of anxiety at the start of the game, but we couldn’t do it. The fact that we played Sunday, Thursday and then today, we suffered a little bit physically in the second half and then the game was much more difficult for us.

 

Aaron Ramsey in action

Aaron Ramsey in action

 

on the penalty shouts…
I wouldn’t have given any of them because the players were very close to the guy who took the shot. There was an intention to play the ball. Overall, I would say they did well on that.

on Arsenal lacking goals…
Maybe a little bit in front of goal because at the moment Olivier Giroud cannot score so you feel that he does not completely have the same confidence. You go through spells like that and I believe we have to support him and give him the needed confidence.

on Giroud's confidence…
His performances are more about his confidence but I think he will come back. He has gone through spells like this before.

 

 

on teams fighting…
We care about that and we worry about it as well because it is a fight and there are two [different kinds of] teams at the moment in the league. There are teams that are taking it a little bit easier that you see some games and you think you would like to play them now - the teams that are safe and do not go for Europe. Then you have the teams that go for something at the front and the teams that fight not go down and they are different games.

on not winning the title…
It is disappointing, because we play to win the league and the fact that we have not won it is of course frustrating like it is for many other teams.

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