Wenger Upbeat After Dutch Defeat

Arsene Wenger maintained all was not lost despite watching an out-of-sorts Arsenal go down 1-0 at PSV Eindhoven in their last-16 first leg to dent their hopes of progressing in the Champions League.

The Gunners never really hit top gear in the Philips Stadion, where chances were at a premium.


However particularly in the first half Wenger felt his side had created enough to "kill the game", but now following Edison Mendez's long-range strike on the hour they must overturn a 1-0 deficit at the Emirates Stadium in a fortnight's time if they are to stay on the road to this year's final in Athens.

Wenger, though, remains optimistic.

"I feel we are in a tricky situation because we have to score two without conceding," he said.

"But from the game I have seen tonight, we have enough confidence and belief that we can achieve that."

In the end, it was a fine effort from Ecuador midfielder Mendez on the hour which settled matters - and gave the Dutch league leaders a slender advantage to take back to Emirates Stadium in a fortnight's time.

Arsenal, had been on top for spells during the first period but, crucially, were unable to turn their dominance into goals.

Tomas Rosicky saw one effort hacked off the line, while PSV keeper Gomes also denied captain Thierry Henry and, late on, midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

Wenger said: "I feel we had decent first half and created chances to be in front. We had chances in the first half to kill the game and we could not do it.

"But what happened in the second half is difficult to say. We dropped our level of cohesion, our passing and fluency went. We created barely anything.

"We lost the game down to a good second half from PSV and we could have been punished more on the counter-attack.

"We looked a little bit out of rhythm in the second half."

The Arsenal manager added: "The way we conceded the goal was disappointing. I felt that mistakes were made much before [the shot]."

Wenger was also less than impressed with the perceived negative tactics of the home side.

He said: "They started the game to play for a 0-0. After they scored the goal, they defended even more but somebody needs to play."

There will be little time for the Gunners to digest the significance of this result as they must now prepare for Sunday's Carling Cup final against Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium.

"They are two different teams and this will have no influence on the Carling Cup," said Wenger.

"We are disappointed because we did not have the game we wanted tonight."

PSV manager Ronald Koeman hailed his side for producing a "fantastic" win.

He said: "I am very proud of my team and we got the best and deserved result - especially looking at the second half.

"As the match went on, we put more pressure on them and were more compact during the later stages."

The former Holland international added: "We are in a fantastic position, and if we play the same level in the second half when we go to London then we have a chance."

The PSV coach denied Wenger's claims that his side had been negative during the first half.

He said: "I do not see that as something negative - we had many injuries and did what we could.

"We proved that from good organisation, you can also win."

Henry Sign New Contract.

Arsenal striker Thierry Henry has played down rumours linking him with a multi-million pound summer move to Real Madrid or Barcelona.

The Gunners skipper signed a new four-year contract in the close season, but has recently been linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium after apparently becoming frustrated with the lack of investment in the squad.


Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger failed to bring in any new faces during the January transfer window and the Gunners have failed to challenge Manchester United and Chelsea in the title race this season.

Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona are thought to be preparing £30million bids for the unsettled star, but the Frenchman has assured fans that he is fully committed to Arsenal.

He told the Daily Mirror: "You know my commitment to the club. That is the most important thing. You know where my heart is."

Henry was speaking from Dubai where he appeared at a Gillette sponsorship announcement alongside Tiger Woods and Roger Federer.

And the striker was bullish when asked if Wenger might be upset with him for making a seven-hour flight to the Middle East before jetting to Paris to play for France in Wednesday's friendly with Argentina.

"It is my day off - people do what they want to do," he insisted.

"It is a one off. You don't usually see me at this kind of thing."

Meanwhile, Henry has said that Arsenal now have the gritty character needed to claw their way back into any game and even the title race.

After coming from a goal down with ten men to draw against Middlesbrough at the weekend the Arsenal captain now believes the Gunners are slowly removing their soft touch tag.

Wenger's men have been galavanised by being branded babies by the Sheffield United players after the loss at Bramall Lane in December.

Since then Arsenal have shown their fighting spirit by winning 2-0 at Blackburn despite Gilberto being sent off early on, coming from two goals down to draw at Tottenham in the Carling Cup and have fought back to earn an FA Cup replay against Bolton at the Emirates.

Henry said: "Some people have questioned our character and desire but it is there for all to see now.

"We played against a decent side with 10 men and showed our commitment again. We are playing as a team and that is the positive thing to take out of this match. Nobody gave up against Bolton, or Spurs, or even when we were down to 10 men the other week at Blackburn.

"We showed the desire to get something out of all those matches and showed it again at Boro, where we have lost in the past."

And Henry still believes that Arsenal are not out of the title race just yet despite being 17 points behind league leaders Manchester United.

"The title is still mathematically possible," he said. "We are showing the right sort of dynamism and spirit and it was important to come here and not lose," Henry added.

"We refused to lose, even when we lost a player. A lot of people would have backed us not to score a goal when we were down to 10 men. We proved them wrong."

Gunners Glory In Extra-Time Thriller

Arsenal secured their place in the Carling Cup final, but they needed extra-time to see off Tottenham 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium.

The young Gunners dug deep to see off their north London rivals 5-3 on aggregate and book a trip to Cardiff to face Chelsea next month.

Only three of the starting XI were over 25, proving the future is indeed bright for Arsene Wenger's squad.

However, this was no easy ride against a determined Spurs side - but one which ultimately did not have the technical ability or resilience to make the most of their chances, having blown a 2-0 lead in last week's first leg.

Emmanuel Adebayor's clinical finish after 77 minutes looked to have put the hosts through - only for substitute Mido to breath life back into the tie with a late header and force extra-time.

However, Jeremie Aliadiere then punished a terrible mistake by Ricardo Rocha at the end of the first period and an own goal by Pascal Chimbonda secured the Gunners safe passage to Cardiff.

With some 5,000 Spurs fans making the short trip to Arsenal's impressive new home, the atmosphere inside the Emirates Stadium was electric.

It was the visitors who had created the first chance in the 10th minute.

A long ball from Michael Dawson caught the Gunners defence cold appealing for offside.

Robbie Keane made the most of their hesitation, scampering clear down the left and into the area.

Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, however, was out quickly to close the Republic of Ireland striker down and make an important block before hacking the ball into touch.

At the other end, Denilson - the Brazil Under-19 captain - played a neat one-two with Kolo Toure on the edge of the penalty area.

His low strike was fumbled by Paul Robinson - and Toure bundled the follow-up just wide of the England keeper's right-hand post.

Seven minutes before half-time, the ball was worked out to the Spurs left and Hossam Ghaly.

The Egyptian whipped over a decent cross - which Steed Malbranque met with a diving header, but his acrobatic effort flew wide of the far post.

In stoppage-time, Adebayor sent a snap shot just over the bar from the edge of the area following more positive build-up by the hosts.

As Spurs were unable to field youngster Charlie Lee as a replacement substitute for the ill Aaron Lennon, who was named on the original team-sheet, the visitors had to make do with only four on the bench following the restart.

At the start of the second half, Theo Walcott cut in on the angle from the right and his 18-yard chip flew just over.

Tempers then threatened to boil over when Ghaly went down under the challenge of Armand Traore in the Arsenal box.

Appeals for a penalty were waved away, with the Spurs man then tussling with first Philippe Senderos - who was sporting a bandage to a head wound - and then squaring up to Abou Diaby.

A brief melee ensued before calm was restored, with both Ghaly and Diaby cautioned.

As the hour mark passed, Spurs were enjoying their best spell - but still looked vulnerable on the counter-attack.

The goal eventually came on 78 minutes.

Denilson fed substitute Tomas Rosicky - and he unleashed a stinging drive from just outside the box, which Robinson parried away.

Spurs, however, failed to clear the danger. The loose ball was moved back into the Czech Republic midfielder, who slipped Adebayor away on the overlap down the left.

The Togo striker drew the keeper before stroking his shot back into the far corner.

Adebayor immediately dashed towards the Arsenal technical area for his now customary jig with rested captain Thierry Henry, the Gunners seemingly en route to the final against Chelsea.

Those celebrations, though, proved somewhat premature.

With just five minutes remaining, a free-kick from the left by Jermaine Jenas found its way through to substitute Mido, who got up above Toure to head in from six yards - much to the delight of the travelling contingent behind the goal.

The Egyptian then almost won it in stoppage-time when he beat two men to curl the ball just wide of Almunia's right-hand post.

There was still more action to come before the tie went into extra-time as Robinson saved well from Denilson and then Toure.

The first period produced little goalmouth action until the final minute, when Rocha made a complete hash of his attempted clearance with a diving header in the six-yard box.

The ball broke to Aliadiere - who made no mistake to turn the tie in Arsenal's favour once more.

Their trip to Cardiff was sealed four minutes from time when Rosicky's close-range shot came off the inside of the post - and full-back Pascal Chimbonda could only help it over the line.

The Beast's Comeback

Julio Baptista scored three times as Arsenal stormed back to draw 2-2 with north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in a frenetic first leg of their League Cup semi-final at White Hart Lane on Wednesday.

The Brazilian followed up his brilliant four-goal show in the quarter-final demolition of Liverpool to rescue Arsenal after his own goal and Dimitar Berbatov's headed opener had gifted Tottenham a 2-0 halftime lead.



The former Real Madrid striker redeemed himself in stunning fashion after the break, beating England keeper Paul Robinson twice in a 12-minute spell to make Arsenal favourites to advance after next week's second leg.

Chelsea await the winners after completing a 5-1 aggregate victory over fourth division Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday.

Manager Arsene Wenger, who did not include talisman Thierry Henry in his squad, paid tribute to Arsenal's fringe players and said he would most likely play them again in the return.

"They showed tremendous mental strength to come back," he told reporters.

"In some ways this result is more satisfying than the 6-3 victory at Liverpool because then everything went for us whereas here nothing went for us in the first half."

Tottenham, who have not beaten Arsenal in any competition since 1999, had appeared on course to end that dismal sequence.

We Will Miss Robin Van Persie...

Arsenal striker Robin van Persie was ruled out for at least six weeks with a broken foot after coming on as a substitute last weekend and scoring the equaliser in the Gunners' come-from-behind 2-1 Premiership win against leaders Manchester United.

The Dutch forward sustained a fractured metatarsal bone at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday and now looks set to miss a significant part of the season as Arsenal chase down the top three of United, champions Chelsea and Liverpool.



"We have lost Robin van Persie for a while, how long I do not really know," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

"It will be six weeks at least if not more. It is big blow, but we have to take it. Robin has been on fire he has had a great season until now," the Frenchman added of Arsenal's leading scorer this term.

"What is terrible for me is that I did not want to use him at all (against Manchester United)," Wenger also told Arsenal TV on Tuesday.

"We were 1-0 behind and I decided to put him on - but he got injured and you can never predict that."

Arsenal captain Thierry Henry, who scored the injury-time winner against United, added: "Robin has been playing tremendously well, so it is a big blow for us and a big blow for him."

Arsenal travel to north London rivals Tottenham on Wednesday for the first leg of their League Cup semi-final.

Wenger is set to continue his policy of using the tournament as a test-bed for Arsenal's up-and-coming players following their extraordinary 6-3 win away to Liverpool in the last eight.

"They deserve it," said the Arsenal manager. "It is very difficult to say 'Listen you are good enough to play at Liverpool, but you are not good enough to play at Tottenham'. They have earned the right."

Brazilian Julio Baptista will be looking to add to his four goals in the last round against Liverpool, while French striker Jeremie Aliadiere is another player in contention as is England fledgling forward Theo Walcott.

Wenger confirmed midfielder Abou Diaby, 20, is set for a place in the side having now regained full match fitness following an horrific ankle injury sustained against Sunderland in May.

At 25, centre-half Kolo Toure is likely to be one of the oldest players in the squad should he anchor the defence at White Hart Lane.

The Ivory Coast international - who also faced Spurs in Arsenal's 3-0 Premiership win in December - said: "Tottenham have a really good team and it will be a great tie, but we can definitely beat them with this side."

Van Persie Equalize, Henry Score.

Late goals by Robin van Persie and Thierry Henry gave Arsenal a thrilling 2-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday, shattering the visitors' bid to open a nine-point lead in the Premier League.

A day after second-placed Chelsea lost 2-0 at Liverpool, England striker Wayne Rooney headed United into a 53rd-minute lead that could potentially have decided the title race.

But Van Persie came off the substitutes' bench to score an 83rd-minute equaliser and captain Henry headed a fine stoppage-time winner.

Though victory completed a league double over United after Arsenal's 1-0 win at Old Trafford in September, it was marred by Van Persie suffering a broken bone in his foot that almost certainly means a long spell on the sidelines.

United, chasing their first league title since 2003, have 57 points after 24 games. Chelsea, champions for the last two seasons, have 51 points, Liverpool 46 and Arsenal 45.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said his team's victory had thrown open the title race and that determination and team spirit had turned the game around.

"It was a test of character, resilience and togetherness," he told a news conference.

"I believe we went until the end, right up to the last second, because we really wanted to win. In the last 20 minutes, it was all us."

United manager Alex Ferguson was at a loss to explain how his side had lost a game they were leading after conceding two goals following high crosses from the right flank.

"They kept hitting long balls up to Henry and (Emmanuel) Adebayor and we were coping with that great....We've lost two goals from positions I didn't think we would lose goals in. But that's football," he told Sky Sports.

FOOT INJURY

The only cloud on the horizon for Arsenal was a broken fifth metatarsal for Van Persie, an injury which Wenger said the striker had sustained in his goal celebration.

The break, likely to sideline him for at least six weeks, will be a major setback for Arsenal as the Dutchman is their top league scorer with 11 goals.

Arsenal, who flirted with their first defeat at their new Emirates Stadium, will be grateful though for a win secured by some relentless second-half pressure.

United seized the early initiative, with Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Henrik Larsson stringing passes through a hesitant Arsenal defence.

Years of rivalry, along with the current title stakes, meant there were plenty of crunching tackles. Space was at a premium and clearcut chances almost non-existent.

United nearly snatched the lead on the stroke of halftime, though, when Jens Lehmann tipped a Rooney shot onto the bar and over and then palmed away a Larsson header from the corner.

Rooney was not to be denied eight minutes after the re-start, though, when United defender Patrice Evra made a good run down the left, his cross was touched on by Arsenal's Kolo Toure and the England striker dived to head home at the far post. It was his first goal in 13 games since early December.

Arsenal pressed for an equaliser but struggled to create real chances against a well-drilled United defence, while Ferguson's side also threatened to score a second on the break.

It looked over for Arsenal until two crosses changed everything. Van Persie rifled home the first from Tomas Rosicky at the far post and Henry hit the net with a bullet header from Emmanuel Eboue's ball with the second.