Arsene Wenger criticises players for 'two or three bad decisions' as Arsenal slip to late Liverpool draw

Snow blow: Wenger was left frustrated by his side's display
Alex Livesey/Getty Images
James Benge13 January 2016

Arsene Wenger was left cursing bad decisions from his attackers as they failed to make the most of a roaring comeback against Liverpool and succumbed to a late equaliser.

After twice falling behind in the first 20 minutes of their 3-3 draw at Anfield the visitors led for much of the second half, benefiting from an excellent display from Olivier Giroud marred only by a calamitous miss mere feet from goal with the scoreline at 2-2.

It was to cost Arsenal dearly in the final moments as Joe Allen slotted home from Christian Benteke’s knockdown to secure a point for Jurgen Klopp’s men.

Such disappointment for the Gunners seemed implausible after Roberto Firmino restored a deserved advantage for Liverpool after 19 minutes, with Aaron Ramsey’s strike for Arsenal perhaps the only notable moment in which Simon Mignolet was threatened.

Despite a much improved 70 minutes afterwards Wenger could not hide his disappointment at what may be a decisive two points dropped in the title race.

He told BT Sport: “We had a difficult start and we came back into the game well; in the end we looked the most disappointed.

“At 3-2 we were guilty of two or three bad decisions in the final third where we didn’t play together enough. In the end we got caught on the long ball.

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“It’s unfortunate but you cannot fault both teams for giving absolutely everything.”

Giroud was crucial in establishing Arsenal’s advantage, netting his 11th and 12th goals of the season. It should have been 13 but the striker missed a tap-in in the first half that turned out be a critical failure.

Wenger also held him at least partly responsible for the failure to build on their advantage in the second half despite a good display.

“He played well, he was involved in one or two situations at 3-2 where he could have done more but overall he has played very well,” he said.

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