Wenger Goes All Out!

Wenger stood on the sideline, silently watching Man City's players sprint onto the pitch to celebrate.

The furrowed old face of the Frenchman was filled with helplessness.

Who could have imagined that, after Arsenal had held such an overwhelming advantage, they would still fall behind Man City? Wenger genuinely had no idea what to say. He even felt that he could not really blame his players.

Five defenders had surrounded Su Dong, yet he had still relied on his superb technique to create a sliver of space and score. What more could anyone say?

Apart from exclaiming, "Holy shit," and praising Su Dong with a "That was freaking awesome," Wenger was truly speechless.

Arsenal's defense was far from stable. The partnership of Squillaci and Djourou was nothing special, especially the rash Djourou. His judgment when stepping up to challenge and his tendency to lose his position while marking opponents had both drawn heavy criticism.

But no matter how one looked at it, Arsenal had been playing the entire match with one more man than their opponents. To be behind Man City again was something nobody could accept.

What frustrated Wenger even more was that Arsenal were gradually approaching the defensive limit he had set.

Whether inside Arsenal or when speaking to the media, Wenger had made it clear that in the Premier League, any team hoping to win the title had to keep its goals conceded below thirty.

The Premier League was somewhat different from other leagues. Its pace was too fast, and many teams played extremely aggressively. As a result, defending had always been a major problem. Teams that could keep their goals conceded below thirty were usually highly competitive.

Since winning the title in the 2003–04 season, Arsenal's goals conceded had rarely fallen below thirty in recent seasons.