Arsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger has raised questions over his Arsenal side’s performance in their heavy 5-1 defeat to Liverpool with the battle for the Premier League title beginning to tighten.
Liverpool run riot over Wenger’s side at Anfield on Saturday with two goals each from Martin Skrtel and Raheem Sterling plus one from Daniel Sturridge saw.
With several key fixtures coming – including Manchester United in the league and Bayern Munich in the Champions League – Wenger admitted his team’s showing was “naïve” and only the fans gave a credible performance for the entirety of the drubbing.
“It was a very poor day. We were poor defensively, offensively,” Wenger told BT Sport.
“Only our fans were good for 90 minutes. All the rest, we were poor. Liverpool played very well, so congratulations to them. But it was a poor performance on a day when we couldn’t afford it.
“Of course it raises some questions today because we were caught many times and were naive. Defensively we need to be more stable. Today we were too open. From the front to the back we were not at the level we are used to.”
Liverpool Manager, Brendan Rodgers however, has hailed what he described an “incredible performance” from the home side, in which they scored five goals against Arsenal at Anfield for only the third time in their history.
Rodgers said: “It was an incredible performance. It’s not the first time we’ve been outstanding at home, but everything about us today was incredible. Everything was outstanding.
“We’ve been getting better and better. We’ve got a lot of young players, developing well. But for us it’s just about improving.”
Daniel Sturridge, who scored Liverpool’s fourth goal to cap a devastating opening 20 minutes for the Gunners, said in his post-match interview: “We went out there and did what the manager told us.
“The first 20 minutes were unbelievable and it’s about the team. We worked as a team and we are getting results.
“It starts form the back and the boys have been excellent. Martin Skrtel got two goals and Raheem Sterling two and got a well-earned Man of the Match for all the hard work he has put in.”
