Wenger says Arsenal are ‘naive’ after Ballack attack

Premier League football bosses aren't known for their humility but it seems Arsenal's recent travails have finally forced Arsene Wenger to admit a few home truths and label his side "naive".

In the immediate aftermath of his side's chastening 2-0 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday, a loss that effectively ends the Gunners' title hopes, Wenger was his usual self, churlishly claiming that the public "didn't get a demonstration of football" from the Blues. Instead it was the usual dour, efficient Chelsea, grinding out a win but not in the pretty style so beloved of Arsenal.

Not surprisingly, Wenger's comments caused much mirth in west London as the leaders, nine points clear of third-placed Arsenal, basked in their second comprehensive league victory this season against their London rivals.

"Wenger always says things like this when he loses to find an excuse," said Michael Ballack, the Chelsea midfielder, adding with a smile: "Football is not possession of the ball and playing a nice pass, football is about winning games and that is what Manchester United showed when they played them and what we did."

The 33-year-old captain of Germany then suggested that perhaps the reasons for Arsenal's failure to win any silverware in five years lie closer to home. "We knew the way Arsenal play," said Ballack. "It is always the same style. If you play tactics like we did, you can beat them. This season and the season before they showed they weren't able to win the league."
 
At the moment, support for Wenger among the Arsenal crowd and board remains strong but comments like Ballack's will touch a nerve nonetheless. As the German said: "Football is a mixture of winning games and good football physically, but also technically." This is something the Arsenal manager seems to have forgotten in recent seasons.
 
Perhaps realising he had been foolish in criticising Chelsea's victory, Wenger has since cut himself a slice of humble pie and admitted the fault for Arsenal's loss is theirs. "I think we were a bit naive on the first corner and then we got caught on the break," he said, having had 24 hours to reflect on the defeat. "Our average age is 23 years and Chelsea's is 29 - I think that it showed in the decisive moments on the pitch."

Arsenal host Liverpool on Wednesday at the Emirates and Wenger has called on his side "to give everything until the last second of the championship, whatever happens." With the morale of the squad shot to pieces following defeats to their two nearest rivals, Wenger knows that he has to lift the spirit of his players for the remaining months of the season.

"We can't have any regrets, and if Chelsea are better than us and win the title, or if it's Manchester United, then we will congratulate them along with everyone else. But that's not a reason for us to give up. We have to show the dignity of our ambitions and sometimes that means fighting until the end." ·