Arsene Wenger lays into his Arsenal flops as EFL Cup exit against Southampton ends 19-game unbeaten run
Angry boss refuses to criticise fans who booed his team off at as he slams the Gunners' lack of urgency in Emirates quarter-final
ARSENE WENGER laid into his Arsenal losers after they tamely surrendered their 19-match unbeaten run last night.
And he refused to put the boot into the Emirates fans who booed his team off following their 2-0 EFL Cup defeat by Southampton.
“The supporters never expect too much so it is down to us to give them what they want and we have to live with that,” Wenger said.
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“It was a disappointing performance. We were not good enough defensively and we gave away cheap goals.
“We didn’t have enough urgency and we were weak in some departments. Southampton were sharper and fitter than us and we were not incisive enough.
“It was one of those nights where we looked as though we could play for two hours without scoring.
“It is always going to be difficult if you give a two-goal advantage to a Premier League opponent and we paid the price for that tonight.”
Wenger defended his decision to rest ten of the team who had beaten Bournemouth at the weekend and insisted: “Some of those who did not play tonight were on the edge.
“The players we used tonight are used to top-level competition.
"In midfield we had Ramsey, Coquelin, Elneny and Xhaka, so the problem wasn’t there. We just didn’t have the right urgency.
“That is an explanation, not an excuse. There are no excuses. Southampton were better than us tonight.
“But I am not too concerned about the knock-on effect of this defeat.”
Wenger also revealed that Mohamed Elneny had to be replaced before half-time because he was suffering from a stomach virus.
“He was sick before the game but decided he was well enough to play.
"But I could see after five minutes that he wasn’t right. It’s not an injury problem. He has diarrhoea.”
Southampton will now play Liverpool in their first League Cup semi-final since 1987 and manager Claude Puel said: “It was a great performance with a lot of quality.
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“We were clinical in the first-half with our two goals and we had many chances to score more goals and make the game safe.
“I really enjoyed what my players did and the semi-final against a great team like Liverpool will a very interesting game for all our players.
“I didn’t see Arsene after the game but he told me at the final whistle to go on and get to the final.”