Before Tuesday night’s 3-2 defeat to Olympiacos even began, there were questions over Arsène Wenger’s decision to start David Ospina instead of Petr Čech.
More questions arose when the Colombian goalkeeper failed to catch a corner towards the end of the first half, dropping the ball across the line.
Never one to hang his players out to dry, the Arsenal boss defended the goalkeeper after the game but was labelled as ‘tetchy’ by a number of journalists who work closely with the club.
That was as tetchy a performance from Wenger at a press conference as I remember.
— Philippe Auclair (@PhilippeAuclair) September 29, 2015
“I do not have to sit here and give you explanations about everything I do”. A question about team selection doesn’t warrant this answer.
— Philippe Auclair (@PhilippeAuclair) September 29, 2015
The manager was understandably in a bad mood but there’s no doubt the decision to select Ospina backfired, and it is a choice that has to be accounted for.
However, the Arsenal boss wouldn’t explain his decisions.
Wenger got a bit tetchy towards the end of that presser. Took umbrage (not for the first time) with questions about team selection.
— James Olley (@JamesOlley) September 29, 2015
AW asked about regrets on selection: “Honestly, I do not want to go into that conversation with you.” Tetchy & emotional.
— gunnerblog (@gunnerblog) September 29, 2015
It’s understandable that the manager was on edge after such a frustrating and disappointing night, but he shouldn’t take it out on the media and the fans.
It’s fair to say the press give the Arsenal manager a rough ride but asking him to explain his selection choices on Tuesday night was no crime. It’s a fair question, one any journalist would ask and every fan would want an answer to.
Yet another Champions League disappointment seems to have gotten the better of the Arsenal boss.