Now we need to make an impact, says Wenger as Arsenal reach knockout stage yet again
Gunners reach last 16 for 15th season in a row after 2-0 win over Dortmund
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was proud his side had reached the knockout rounds of the Champions league for the 15th straight season on Wednesday but said they now needed to make a real impact in the competition.
In the eight seasons since they lost the 2006 final to Barcelona, Arsenal have qualified for the last 16 every time but only reached the semi-finals once.
Three weeks after collapsing to a 3-3 draw with Anderlecht at the Emirates Stadium after holding a 3-0 lead, Arsenal went ahead in the second minute through Yaya Sanogo and made it 2-0 after 57 minutes through Alexis Sanchez.
This time, though, a similar self-inflicted implosion never looked likely.
Wenger said: “When you work in a football club you realise it’s not easy to have a continuity and to be consistent but we are, and I am very proud of that.
“I think the club deserves a lot of credit for that. Its not enough though because we want more than that.”
Asked what Arsenal needed to do, Wenger laughed, “First to send a different guy for the draw because if you look at the last five or six years we got the teams you did not want.
“But from now until February we need to improve as a team, and take encouragement from tonight’s game and hope we have nearly all our players back in the next round.”
Arsenal want to avoid finishing second in the group and facing a group winner in the last 16.
To avoid that scenario, Dortmund – who are third from last in the Bundesliga – must lose to eliminated Anderlecht in their last match while Arsenal must beat eliminated Galatasaray in Istanbul.
If that occurs Arsenal will lead the group, but Wenger felt it was “90 percent certain” Dortmund would finish top.
A number of Arsenal fans took to social media to query why Wenger gave a start to 21-year-old French striker Yaya Sanogo, who before Wednesday had made 18 appearances without scoring.
He found the net in the second minute and Wenger was full of praise.
“I think he played well tonight, he protected the ball well, won many challenges. He is a young boy, he has presence and character and his naturally committed and is naturally aggressive up front and that is vital.”
Dortmund manager Juergen Klopp, who unusually took his team for a training session in London’s Regent Park on Wednesday morning said: “Arsenal were the deserved winners tonight, there are 1,000 reasons why we weren’t good enough, and we need to start working hard to get the results.”
