Arsene Wenger has admitted that Arsenal lacked quality during the first half against Red Star Belgrade on Thursday night.

Arsenal failed to score against Red Star in the Europa League this week. Just like the away match in Serbia, they found it difficult to break their opposition side down and this time the Gunners couldn’t magic up a last minute moment of brilliance in order to find the back of the net.

Wenger admits that his side were lacking quality, especially with their final ball.

“I think they started stronger than us, they played very well tonight,” said the boss. “They played at a high pace, they were always dangerous on the breaks and they defended very well. In the second half I felt we dominated possession much more, played more in one half, but we lacked a bit of quality in the final ball, vision to find the right space and overall I must say it is a fair 0-0.”

Arsenal had 11 shots against Red Star, yet only three were on target – the same amount as the visitors. However, while Vladan Milojević’s side couldn’t manage to find the back of the net either, they certainly looked dangerous in spells, especially in the first half.

wenger theo red star
(BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images)

Wenger’s comments are nothing new because the performance was the same one we’ve seen several times this season.

Olivier Giroud had four shots but only two were on target and Theo Walcott was on another planet – not in a good way.

However, our first team players were all rested and Arsenal are through to the next round of the Europa League with two matches to go. Therefore, while the clash itself wasn’t exactly a thriller, we did the job and can move on.