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Arsenal boss Wenger relieved to avoid 'disaster' after remarkable Reading comeback
The Frenchman believes his team's fightback salvaged some pride after a farcical first-half display, and insists he never lost faith in their chances of turning the match around
Oct 31, 2012 7:22:00 AM
By Liam Twomey at the Madejski Stadium
Arsene Wenger admits it would have been a "disaster" had Arsenal bowed out of this year's Capital One Cup thanks to their first-half capitulation against Reading.
The Gunners fought back from 4-0 down to force extra time and eventually triumph 7-5 at the Madejski Stadium after a truly remarkable contest defined by irresistible attacking and inept defending.
At the club's annual general meeting last week the Frenchman ranked the Capital One Cup fifth in his list of priorities, but after the match he admitted that to go out in such a manner would have been humiliating.
"It was not one of our priorities but had we gone out the way we could have gone out, it would not have been one of my proudest moments," the Frenchman told reporters.
"We went from disaster to giving ourselves at least some pride, because we came back with a decent performance.
"We had only hope that we would go through, but at least we got our first-half disasters out of our system.
"I felt for our fans because even at 4-0, they stayed behind the team. I would like to give them credit, and I’m happy that we paid them back in the second half.
"Once it was 4-4 I felt we would win the game, because Reading had given a lot, and were mentally down. We looked quite comfortable in extra time."
Wenger knows first-hand the pain of losing a four-goal lead, having been pegged back to a 4-4 draw by Newcastle in February last year, and expressed his sympathy for Reading boss Brian McDermott.
"They had a fantastic start, and I know what it is to be pulled back when you’re 4-0 up," he continued. "Reading should take credit from that performance, and maybe not be too disappointed.
"At 4-0, you think you have won the game. At 4-1, you still think you have won the game. At 4-2, you suddenly realise it isn’t over, and then the panic kicks in.
"It doesn’t matter how good a player you are, when that happens, it goes right through the team."
The Gunners boss also took the opportunity to praise contract rebel Theo Walcott, who bagged a hat-trick to cap a man-of-the-match display.
"I always said he will be striker," Wenger insisted. "He’s a good finisher now. He knows where to be on the rebounds. That is the quality of a striker you can’t give to someone, they either have it or they don’t.
"I want to keep him, and I think aside from the contract talks, you have to give him credit for the way he is committed to the team, and for the way he behaves."
'It was kamikaze football' - McDermott laments Reading defending after Arsenal collapse
The Royals' boss believes Theo Walcott's opening goal on the stroke of half-time proved a turning point, and is also unhappy at the decision to play six minutes of injury time
Oct 31, 2012 7:18:00 AM
By Liam Twomey at the Madejski Stadium
Brian McDermott insists Reading paid the price for playing "kamikaze football" after losing an incredible 12-goal thriller to Arsenal in the Capital One Cup.
The Royals surged into a 4-0 lead after 37 minutes, but the Gunners came roaring back after the interval, forcing extra time and eventually triumphing 7-5 after an unforgettable contest.
McDermott was devastated by his side's collapse after what he called an "extraordinary" first-half showing, and believes Theo Walcott's strike just before the interval proved the turning point.
"I wasn’t happy at half time," he revealed. "I thought we completely dominated the first half, so to concede a goal like that out of nothing was disappointing.
"To go in at 4-1 instead of 4-0 gave them impetus they didn’t need. You can’t give good players a lift like that.
"We didn’t play in the second half. It was kamikaze football, even in extra time when we got to 5-5.
"To be 4-0 up and playing as well as we were, and then for them to turn it around like that, it’s embarrassing for all of us.
"We have to take it on the chin and we have to move on very quickly, because we can’t do anything about it now."
The match officials decided on four minutes of injury time, but Walcott bundled home Arsenal's equaliser in the 96th minute, and afterwards McDermott was at a loss to explain where the extra two minutes came from.
"He gave four minutes and Arsenal scored in the sixth," the Royals boss continued.
"You can understand giving an extra 30 seconds at the end, but two minutes on top of four…you can’t get the time as wrong as that, but he did."
It is a contest which will surely go down as a classic of the modern era, but McDermott insisted that, for him, it will bring only bad memories.
"I know this game will be remembered for a long time, and that makes me feel a lot worse," he concluded.
