English Premiership Preview: Man United vs Arsenal

Arsene Wenger has charged his wards to bounce back to winning ways when they confront Manchester United today in a midweek English Premiership fixture. He described Arsenal’s 5-1 thrashing at Liverpool as an “accident” and encouraged his players to respond by beating Manchester United tonight.

The Gunners lost their hold on first place in the Premier League after their demolition at Anfield on Saturday, but their manager is confident that they will show their worth against United at the Emirates Stadium. “It is always a disappointment to lose a game, but I think it was an accident because we have been very stable defensively and we have to treat it like that,” Wenger told a press conference on Tuesday. “We have just been on a ten-game unbeaten run. You cannot consider one game as the trend, the pattern of our season. It is an accident, not a welcome [one] of course, a very disappointing one, but a successful season is decided by how you respond to that.”

On Mesut Ozil’s performance against Liverpool, Wenger who spoke out in defence of the record signing star said. “He didn’t have the best of games on Saturday, but that can happen,” the Frenchman said of the Germany playmaker. “He works very hard to adapt to the physical level of the Premier League and for me he is an exceptional player.”

I wouldn’t like to put too much pressure on him because he has been a top-class player until now. He knows when he is not good enough, he will get questioned. That is normal.” Wenger is hoping that France U-21 forward Yaya Sanogo will be available to feature against United, having spent five months on the sidelines with a back problem.

- Leadership

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