Arsenal missed an opportunity to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League as group winners after being held to an entertaining draw at home to Paris St Germain
Both sides had already qualified to the knockout stages, but a victory at the Emirates Stadium would have been enough for the Gunners to top the group and potentially draw a more comfortable tie in the round of 16.
That means, after the 1-1 draw in Paris back in September, it is Unai Emery’s side who top the group – and a victory at home to Ludogorets in their final fixture will see them advance in first place.
It is very unlikely that PSG are going to drop points to Ludogorets – who have not won a single game in the group – and it seems almost a certainty that Arsenal will now finish second in their group.
According to Arsenal.com, Wenger had this to say after the game :
“The start of the game was in favour of Paris Saint-Germain because I think we let them play too comfortably.” he said
“It was difficult for us to find the right positioning on the pitch from the start, because we were a bit hesitant to play high up or to block them deep.”
“We had a very strong start again in the second half, where we were dominant until it was 2-1 and after we dropped off and didn’t maintain the pressure and we paid for that. It’s frustrating because we scored an own goal basically on a ball where we thought it was a goal kick.”
Wenger also feels that his side has lost some winning momentum, having drawn 3 of their last 4 games in all competitions :
“We have not lost, but we have lost a winning momentum a little bit, yes. But we played against a good team tonight as well.”
Arsenal will now face Swiss side Basel in their final group stage match of this year’s tournament, but their fate is in PSG’s hands.
A 2nd place finish means that Arsenal could once again draw the likes of Barcelona, who they have faced and failed to beat on several occassions over the last few seasons