Europa League: Arsene Wenger relieved as Arsenal beat AC Milan to end ‘nightmare week’
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger expressed his relief after his side’s Europa League success at AC Milan on Thursday by describing it as an important win after a nightmare week.
“I am happy with the spirit and response we gave,” said the Frenchman after a 2-0 victory at San Siro in the last 16 first leg tie ended a run of four successive defeats.
“We were not in a position to take risks, but we could not be too cautious as you lose fluidity. We defended with resilience until the end,” he said.
“When you are knocked down like a boxer, you don’t have time to react and you are only halfway up, but you have to respond. Your pride and desire to show quality has to come through in the game.
“It is an important win of course after we had a nightmare week,” added Wenger, whose side came to Milan after losing to Premier League leaders Manchester City — who also beat them in last month’s League Cup final — and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Arsenal’s Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil described the win in Milan as “our best away performance for some time”, while Aaron Ramsey, scorer of the second goal, called it …read more