I told the lads to come in with no regrets

Last updated : 04 December 2008 By Tony Scholes
Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger has been in charge for over twelve years and this is the first time he's seen his team go out of a cup competition to a side from a lower division, and he had plenty to say after the defeat.

"We played quite well," he said. "We had six one-on-ones with the keeper and we lost 2-0, that sums it up quite well. They had the fraction of focus and superiority in front of goal that we lacked and that made a difference. But overall we lost a game we shouldn't have lost.

"Many of our players were not fazed by the game. They expressed their talent and many of them gave absolutely everything. But in front of goal you need to be much more clinical than we were tonight. I felt we were quite naïve in the way we took our chances."

Asked if an Arsenal goal would have changed things he replied: "Yes, of course. It was always us chasing the game with them playing on the counter attack. It is the easiest way to deal with the game. I believe as well the regret we have is that we had the first chance and some easy chances we missed. For a very young team it is difficult to chase the game for ninety minutes and not concede a goal on the counter attack.

"We were caught out because it started with a throw-in and we did not re-position ourselves quickly enough. That is a question of concentration."

Wenger made a change at half time, replacing Paul Rodgers with Henri Lansbury and he explained: "It was because we had a lot of the ball and we had to build the game out from the back. I wanted more offensive players at the back to do that. We were uncomfortable at the start because we had real defenders in so we needed more offensive players there."

He also admitted to not being surprised at how we played, and was impressed with the whole Turf Moor experience. "I wasn't surprised by Burnley's quality because I saw them before and I felt they were of the same quality as Sheffield United and Wigan. Wigan was perhaps better quality but I was not surprised by Burnley. I was surprised by how much of the ball Burnley had."

And on Turf Moor: "It was enjoyable. It was good to see the whole crowd behind the team."

I think we could all see just how pleased Owen Coyle was with his involvement on the pitch after the final whistle, but he heaped praise on his team when he finally spoke to the media.

"All credit to the players because they are producing the goods," he said. "People will talk about individual players, but each and every one of them was magnificent from start to finish.

"It's been a full house for the first time in twenty years or whatever and we said we would look to make it a fortress. We knew Arsenal would have periods of play and undoubtedly we knew they were going to get chances. When they did Brian produced great saves, but it wasn't just about us scoring two goals.

"We had numerous chances and we were brave in terms of passing. I was delighted Kevin took his chances and over the night, although we rode our luck at times, I thought we were deserving of our place in the semi-final.

"The effort, the application, desire and hunger was there again. I told the lads to come in with no regrets and that if we were beaten by a better team we could accept that. We just didn't want to feel we let ourselves down, but with this group of players there was no chance of that happening and it's a great night for this football club. There are only ourselves and three other teams in it now, so we can dream.

"Anybody who sees us will tell you that we are competitive, but not over physical. We like to pass the ball and Arsenal are the yardstick for that and it's pleasing that it worked for us again tonight.

"Getting to the semi final surpasses the feeling of Chelsea. I do believe a lot of people felt we would win tonight and we certainly felt we had a great chance. I am delighted that was the case.

"The atmosphere was fantastic and we would like a full house every week. I realise it's not possible because of finances and everything else, but what a night!"