Wenger: Koscielny’s red card killed us completely

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
  • Post published:March 8, 2017

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he was left frustrated after his side were eliminated from the Champions League following their 5-1 defeat against Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

The Gunners fell to a humiliating 10-2 on aggregate after suffering a 5-1 defeat in both legs of the Champions League as Bayern booked their place in the next round of the competition.

The 67-year-old believes his side showed real fighting spirit to score the opening goal and he insists that the Gunners put the Bundesliga side under pressure for most of the match.

‘I felt that we produced a performance with the spirit and the pride that we wanted. After that the story finishes badly,’ Wenger told the Arsenal website.

‘Personally, I would say that we really put Bayern under pressure and that we were really unlucky tonight because it was 100 per cent a penalty in the first half after the foul on Walcott. I checked it on television.

Wenger insists that it could have been a different game if Laurent Koscielny wasn’t sent off at the start of the second half.

‘In the second half, the referee killed the game. After that, it was very difficult but the referee was very, very powerful for Bayern tonight. At that moment in the game, not only was it not a penalty, but Lewandowski was offside.

‘On top of that, he gave us a red card and that killed us completely. Overall I must say that Bayern are a good side, but tonight they can also say thank you to the decisions of the referee in the second half.

Arsenal will be hoping to bounce back when they take on Lincoln City in the FA Cup on Saturday.

The match at the Emirates Stadium kicks off at 19:30.