benz
Registered: Apr 2002
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Arsene still had some good words to say and deservedly so:
I felt we produced an outstanding performance in the Carling Cup Final on Sunday but of course I have a few regrets.
Firstly, we had the chance in the first half to kill the game and we didn't do it. We should have done more with the chances we created, especially with the final ball. Two or three times we had clear opportunities and the game should have been beyond Chelsea by half time.
Another regret is that we lost our nerves with seven minutes to go and you saw what happened I am sure. We must always keep our nerve. We should have taken the free kick after the foul on Kolo, that was the best way to come back.
My third regret is that the officials made some very bad decisions, vital decisions which you cannot afford to make in a game of that importance. The equaliser for Chelsea was offside and Emmanuel Adebayor was onside when he went clean through but the flag went up. That is minor for some people but not for me.
Overall I was happy with our performance. We did not lose a game in the Carling Cup until the final part of the Final. It's a repeat of the Champions League last year where we did not lose until the final part of the Final. Hopefully next time we can take home the trophy.
The brawl in the closing minutes will take the headlines and I was very disappointed with the incident because it did not reflect the quality of the game. I know the media will speak more about the brawl but I think people will keep in their brain that they saw a good football game on Sunday and we are proud of that.
It is not normal for a manager to go on the pitch but I went on to try and make sure nothing major happened. I wanted to calm things down. Basically I am not strong enough to do that. I think I overestimated my power a little.
We will learn from the incident in stoppage time. We have had a great team spirit since the beginning of the season in this squad. The young players have responded every time and my regret is that we had enough energy and mental resources to come back against Chelsea but the fight killed our last chance.
After an incident like that you don't get into the game any more. You need aggression in a young squad but in a positive way. You need to control that aggression and not lose your nerve. We will learn from this.
There were many positives from the Cup Final from my perspective. In the midfield we had Walcott, 17, Denilson, 19, Fabregas, 19, and Diaby, 20. The average age in the centre of midfield was 19 and they marshalled the middle of the park in an outstanding way against world-class players.
As for my approach to the Carling Cup as a whole, I had my vision for the competition and I stuck to it until the last minute. I don't regret any second of what I did.
Thanks for your support.
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26-02-2007 13:13 PM
