Football
Mattias Karen, Arsenal correspondent 7y

Arsene Wenger stands by chasing 'one in a million chance' vs. Bayern Munich

LONDON -- Arsene Wenger has said he will shoulder the blame for Arsenal's late collapse in the 5-1 loss to Bayern Munich, but has no regrets about not switching to damage limitation mode.

The Gunners conceded five second-half goals after going down to 10 men when Laurent Koscielny was sent off. That red card and subsequent penalty severely hit their chances of erasing a 5-1 deficit from the first leg, and they Bayern ultimately seized on their numerical advantage.

While the Arsenal players were heavily criticised for their lack of fight over the last 30 minutes, Wenger said they kept pushing forward because he refused to give up on the "one in a million" chance of scoring more goals.

"I take [responsibility] for that myself. When you are 1-1 and down to 10 men and have to score four goals, you could sit there and think 'I could put three defenders on now,'" Wenger said.

"But even if you put three defenders on you can still lose 5-1 when you are down to 10 men and the team knows you have no chance to score any goals. Or you have one chance in a million and you still try to play so that at least the people that come and watch you see you try to play football. I went for the second option.

"Yes I got slaughtered because it finished 5-1, but that is what I decided and I stand up for that -- I thought even if it is a one in a million chance let's go for it."

The 10-2 aggregate defeat was the heaviest every suffered by an English team in the Champions League and only increased the pressure on Wenger to step down at the end of the season.

The growing fan unrest even prompted club chairman Chips Keswick to issue his first public statement addressing Wenger's future, saying a decision "will be made by us mutually and communicated at the right time in the right way."

Majority owner Stan Kroenke has yet to break his silence on the topic, and Wenger said he has not spoken to the American since the club's last board meeting. The two do not usually communicate after games, he added.

"No, whether we lose or win," he said.

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