Arsène Wenger says Arsenal were disappointed about not beating their London rivals on Sunday.
While speaking to the media after Sunday’s goalless draw against Chelsea. Wenger said, “We were disappointed because we wanted to win but we didn’t manage to score.
“I think we did enough to win the game today and Chelsea defended well.
“I felt that we played with the right intensity in the first half. We dropped that in the second half and came back to the right level in the last 20 minutes. We could have finished the game off.
“Ozil had a good chance in the final minute of the game but they came to defend well, did it well and everybody knows that.”
Wenger, however, admitted that Arsenal were fortunate not to have had a penalty awarded against them after goalkeeper, Ospina’s challenge on Oscar.
On whether it should have been a penalty, Wenger said, “I think we could have had one or two as well. The referee played advantage to Oscar. He was first on the ball so he played advantage but Hector Bellerin managed to save a goal, so it was difficult for him (to pull play back).
He added that he would have to watch the replay to be sure if Cazorla’s shot was blocked by a hand in another penalty call in favour of Arsenal, which was waved away by the referee.
Wenger also cautiously conceded the title to Chelsea, saying they deserve to be champions having “started the season strong and they made the difference in the first half of the season compared to us”.
“We have closed it (the gap) since the start of the season. What happened is that they had the experience at the back, they could close the game down. We lacked freedom of mind today.
“Maybe we were too conscious of their counter-attacking and didn’t play with enough freedom in the final third. We made some wrong decisions,” he said.
On whether Arsenal’s record of losses against Chelsea affected the players, Wenger said, “It’s always difficult to know that straight away after the game.
“In the dangerous situations we created in the first half, what we usually do – the decisions are quick and sharp – and today the decisions in the final ball were not always right. All the build-up was very good, very quick, but the final ball wasn’t there.
“We want to finish this season well and when you look at the other results – I watched Aston Villa against Manchester City, and today Manchester United – every game is difficult.
“We need to absolutely keep focused until the end of the game, and then we can see what we can do next season. Let’s finish well. We have a strong end now.
“We go to Hull and then we want to secure top four before the FA Cup final because that battle is not done yet. After that, we can look at the top three or the top two. It’s all to do now.”
Arsene Wenger would not be drawn into a commenting on his personal rivalry with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, and his failure again to beat the Portuguese.
“It’s about our club and our team, not about me. What you want is to win the game for the club. The rest may be good for media talk but it’s less interesting [for me]. What is important is what happens on the football pitch.
He also did not feel the reception given to former Arsenal player, Cesc Fabregas, by the fans was too hostile. “I’ve seen much worse,” he said.
