Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has demanded improvement from his players after defeat to Hull ruined his 12th anniversary at the club.Daniel Cousin's winner denied Wenger a return to the top of the Premier League table and ended Arsenal's unbeaten run at the Emirates Stadium, which had stretched back 17 months.
The hosts had led through Paul McShane's own goal before Geovanni found the top corner from 30 yards, then Cousin added the decider as Arsenal wasted their possession and opportunities, a criticism they have faced after going without a trophy since 2005.
"We had the chances to win the game," said Wenger. "The commitment was on the high side but we weren't completely switched on to the level you need to be to win the game.
"Human beings are not machines. Perhaps subconsciously we thought we would make it. After we went 1-0 up, we were a bit careless in not pushing on to score the second goal.
"We don't know how costly it could be but they were committed and it was a good lesson for us. We now know that if our attitude isn't right, we can lose games.
"It was a bit similar to (Arsenal's match at) Fulham. You can never afford defeats. We had a good chance to go top of the league but at the end of the day, if we had had the same level of concentration as Hull we would have won the game."
Emmanuel Adebayor had an effort ruled out in the first half for pushing McShane and Michael Turner - but Hull goalkeeper Boaz Myhill went untested for 45 minutes.
McShane bundled through his own net after Theo Walcott raided down the right just after the break, then Geovanni's rocket levelled.
Wenger was angry with the marking for Cousin's winner, with the Gabon striker moving across captain William Gallas from a corner to glance his header into the far post.
It was not the way Wenger wanted to remember his 12th anniversary.
"There's nothing to celebrate, even if we had won," he added.
Hull manager Phil Brown was furious with his players at half-time for not believing they could win.
After the finest result in the club's history, Brown felt he was rewarded for his positive approach, fielding Marlon King and Cousin in attack, with Geovanni supporting.
"We picked a team to come here and cause them problems," Brown said.
"We have a drive, an endeavour and a belief that we can come to places and get a result. I was disappointed with our display in the first half when we came off at 0-0 because I wanted to win.
"To say I was harsh in my criticism would be an understatement.
"It's one of my greatest results - Wembley and Newcastle were great but we're proving people wrong all the time. We've got the same number of points as Derby (achieved in all of last season) with 32 games left so it's a fantastic day!"
Hull captain Ian Ashbee told Setanta 1: "We went for it, we played with three strikers.
"We could have come and try to shut up shop but we knew that would be difficult against Arsenal."
Cousin's goal was his first for Hull since joining from Rangers last month, and the Gabon international said: "I'm happy for the team and for my first goal for Hull. We played well together."
The hosts had led through Paul McShane's own goal before Geovanni found the top corner from 30 yards, then Cousin added the decider as Arsenal wasted their possession and opportunities, a criticism they have faced after going without a trophy since 2005.
"We had the chances to win the game," said Wenger. "The commitment was on the high side but we weren't completely switched on to the level you need to be to win the game.
"Human beings are not machines. Perhaps subconsciously we thought we would make it. After we went 1-0 up, we were a bit careless in not pushing on to score the second goal.
"We don't know how costly it could be but they were committed and it was a good lesson for us. We now know that if our attitude isn't right, we can lose games.
"It was a bit similar to (Arsenal's match at) Fulham. You can never afford defeats. We had a good chance to go top of the league but at the end of the day, if we had had the same level of concentration as Hull we would have won the game."
Emmanuel Adebayor had an effort ruled out in the first half for pushing McShane and Michael Turner - but Hull goalkeeper Boaz Myhill went untested for 45 minutes.
McShane bundled through his own net after Theo Walcott raided down the right just after the break, then Geovanni's rocket levelled.
Wenger was angry with the marking for Cousin's winner, with the Gabon striker moving across captain William Gallas from a corner to glance his header into the far post.
It was not the way Wenger wanted to remember his 12th anniversary.
"There's nothing to celebrate, even if we had won," he added.
Hull manager Phil Brown was furious with his players at half-time for not believing they could win.
After the finest result in the club's history, Brown felt he was rewarded for his positive approach, fielding Marlon King and Cousin in attack, with Geovanni supporting.
"We picked a team to come here and cause them problems," Brown said.
"We have a drive, an endeavour and a belief that we can come to places and get a result. I was disappointed with our display in the first half when we came off at 0-0 because I wanted to win.
"To say I was harsh in my criticism would be an understatement.
"It's one of my greatest results - Wembley and Newcastle were great but we're proving people wrong all the time. We've got the same number of points as Derby (achieved in all of last season) with 32 games left so it's a fantastic day!"
Hull captain Ian Ashbee told Setanta 1: "We went for it, we played with three strikers.
"We could have come and try to shut up shop but we knew that would be difficult against Arsenal."
Cousin's goal was his first for Hull since joining from Rangers last month, and the Gabon international said: "I'm happy for the team and for my first goal for Hull. We played well together."
By Tigers
From teamtalk
No comments:
Post a Comment