Arsenal Wenger admitted he could empathise with the frustrations of Arsenal fans after a stumbling 0-0 draw at home to Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League.
The point was enough to secure Arsenal’s qualification from Europa League Group H thanks to Cologne’s 5-2 win over BATE Borisov but the Gunners’ display could not inspire a far from capacity Emirates crowd, many of whom were long gone come the final whistle.
Those that remained were not in the mood for celebration at full-time, with small pockets even booing their side despite them having secured swift passage to the round of 32.
Wenger seemed no less enthused by the result than many supporters and admitted that his players were just as frustrated over a first goalless draw at the Emirates since October 2016, when they drew with Middlesbrough in the Premier League.
“People supported the team [even though] in the end they didn’t see goals,” Wenger said. “They’re not used to not seeing goals at the Emirates.
“For us it’s frustrating as well that we don’t score but we understand as well that there are many young players in the team and playing these types of games is part of the learning experience for them.
“We made four games, 10 points. You could see tonight that it was a very intense game.”
Over two meetings Arsenal were only able to breach Red Star Belgrade’s steadfast defence on one occasion and that required Olivier Giroud’s spectacular bicycle kick to secure victory in Serbia.
A defence that has conceded just three goals in 15 Serbian SuperLiga games was not overawed by Premier League opposition and departed North London with a point the Arsenal boss agreed was richly deserved.
“They started stronger than us,” Wenger admitted. “They played very well tonight, at a high pace and they were always dangerous on the breaks. They defended very well.
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“In the second half we dominated much more possession and played in their half but we lacked a bit of quality in the final ball and vision to find the right space. I must say it is a fair 0-0.”
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