Arsenal's growing anxiety worries Wenger
Source: Agencies |
January 15, 2013, Tuesday
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ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger is growing frustrated with the team's "timid" and "nervous" displays at home, saying the players are struggling to deal with the pressure from restless fans.
Arsenal's midfield was overpowered in the 0-2 loss to Manchester City on Sunday, and defensive lapses led to an early red card for center back Laurent Koscielny and the two goals.
"We are a bit too nervous to play in a serene way at home, and that shows in the way we start the games," Wenger said.
The 60,000-strong crowd at Emirates Stadium voiced its displeasure with referee Mike Dean after Koscielny's sending-off, but that's not the first time players have heard boos at home this season after more than seven years without a trophy.
Wenger said this restlessness from the crowd "doesn't help" the team.
"I feel we wanted to do so well but we are a bit uptight," he said. "It's not anger, it's frustration that you do not see from the start on what this team is capable of doing. We started too timid, with not enough authority in a game like that," Wenger said. "We didn't dictate the game from the start on and after we paid very early for it."
In Italy, defending champion Juventus struggled again as it was held to a 1-1 draw at Parma in Serie A on Sunday.
Andrea Pirlo gave Juventus the lead with a trademark free-kick early in the second half but Nicola Sansone leveled in the 78th minute to preserve Parma's unbeaten home record.
Second-place Lazio is now only three points behind Juventus after recording a controversial 2-0 win at home to Atalanta. Napoli is two points further back after cruising to a 3-0 win at home to Palermo. Fifth-place Fiorentina surprisingly lost 1-3 at Udinese as Antonio Di Natale scored twice.
In the evening game, Sampdoria continue to impress as it held AC Milan to a 0-0 draw.
In Spain, Lionel Messi scored one goal and set up two more to steer Barcelona to a 3-1 win at Malaga.
Messi pounced on an ill-advised back pass by Malaga's Ignacio Camacho in the 27th minute to score for the ninth league game in a row. He then set up Cesc Fabregas to score in the 50th and substitute Thiago Alcantara to add another eight minutes from time.
Barcelona has won all 10 away games this season and is unbeaten in the competition after a league-record start of 18 wins to go with one single draw.
The Catalan club maintained its commanding 11-point lead over Atletico Madrid after its nearest chaser beat Real Zaragoza 2-0.
Arsenal's midfield was overpowered in the 0-2 loss to Manchester City on Sunday, and defensive lapses led to an early red card for center back Laurent Koscielny and the two goals.
"We are a bit too nervous to play in a serene way at home, and that shows in the way we start the games," Wenger said.
The 60,000-strong crowd at Emirates Stadium voiced its displeasure with referee Mike Dean after Koscielny's sending-off, but that's not the first time players have heard boos at home this season after more than seven years without a trophy.
Wenger said this restlessness from the crowd "doesn't help" the team.
"I feel we wanted to do so well but we are a bit uptight," he said. "It's not anger, it's frustration that you do not see from the start on what this team is capable of doing. We started too timid, with not enough authority in a game like that," Wenger said. "We didn't dictate the game from the start on and after we paid very early for it."
In Italy, defending champion Juventus struggled again as it was held to a 1-1 draw at Parma in Serie A on Sunday.
Andrea Pirlo gave Juventus the lead with a trademark free-kick early in the second half but Nicola Sansone leveled in the 78th minute to preserve Parma's unbeaten home record.
Second-place Lazio is now only three points behind Juventus after recording a controversial 2-0 win at home to Atalanta. Napoli is two points further back after cruising to a 3-0 win at home to Palermo. Fifth-place Fiorentina surprisingly lost 1-3 at Udinese as Antonio Di Natale scored twice.
In the evening game, Sampdoria continue to impress as it held AC Milan to a 0-0 draw.
In Spain, Lionel Messi scored one goal and set up two more to steer Barcelona to a 3-1 win at Malaga.
Messi pounced on an ill-advised back pass by Malaga's Ignacio Camacho in the 27th minute to score for the ninth league game in a row. He then set up Cesc Fabregas to score in the 50th and substitute Thiago Alcantara to add another eight minutes from time.
Barcelona has won all 10 away games this season and is unbeaten in the competition after a league-record start of 18 wins to go with one single draw.
The Catalan club maintained its commanding 11-point lead over Atletico Madrid after its nearest chaser beat Real Zaragoza 2-0.
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