'I’m angry and disappointed': Arsene Wenger feels Arsenal's FIVE expected goals a fairer result after Man Utd loss

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James Benge2 December 2017

An angry Arsene Wenger bemoaned the inefficiency of his side as Arsenal managed to create 33 shooting opportunities and still lose 3-1 to Manchester United at the Emirates.

Jose Mourinho’s side capitalised on defensive errors to claim a two-goal lead inside 11 minutes, Antonio Valencia and Jesse Lingard providing the one-two punch before Arsenal had settled into the game.

The Gunners rallied in fine fashion, Alexandre Lacazette scoring early in the first half, but as their siege of the United goal reached a crescendo the visitors hit back through Lingard to secure a 3-1 victory.

The statistics after the game painted a very different picture of the encounter. David de Gea made a Premier League record 14 saves in the United goal whilst Opta figures for expected goals, which measured the likelihood of each shot resulting in a goal, favoured Arsenal five to two.

Asked by Standard Sport whether he felt the expected goals were a fairer reflection of the game than the scoreline Wenger said: “Yes, of course.

“In this kind of game you have to be efficient. We had the chances to score but we didn’t take them. Their keeper, as well, had an outstanding game.

"In this kind of game you know from the start on you have to dictate your strengths in the duels from the back. I felt that at the back our concentration was not sharp enough and dominant enough from the start onwards.

"We have produced an excellent performance but we conceded three goals. We had at least 10 chances and we were not efficient enough in the box. That’s the reality.

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"I feel sorry for the players because their spirit was outstanding, the quality of their performance was outstanding, but at the end of the day we were not efficient enough because we didn’t start [well] enough in areas where it matters.

Wenger added: "I don’t know if you’ve watched top-level games but when you have 33 shots on goal in a game of that stature it means our dominance was top class.

“But I’m angry and disappointed because at the end we have nothing to show for it. Even at 2-1 we made another mistake at the back that made the game even more difficult.”

Wenger also pointed to two penalties in the dying minutes that were not given by referee Andre Marriner, which prompted the Arsenal manager to repeat a line of questioning on the standard of English referees he had first raised after the defeat against Manchester City last month.

“Last night I watched Napoli-Juventus on television and saw top-class referees,” Wenger said. “You want to analyse well, watch the difference between them and us and you’ll see.”