Arsenal learn their lessons

LONDON – Arsenal look to have learned the lessons of past mistakes in Europe after grinding out a 1-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven in their Champions League opener.

Though it took an own goal to secure the points at Highbury on Tuesday, the bitter experience of squandered leads in past campaigns helped Arsenal to survive a difficult second half. Manager Arsene Wenger conceded that his tiring team lacked their usual sparkle and penetration in the closing stages, but insisted they had not set out to make it a dour affair.”I don’t like boring football,” he told reporters.”You have to adapt your game to your potential and basically in the second half we didn’t have any more petrol left in the tank to play our game.”We weren’t in a position where we could go forward quickly on the break and when we couldn’t find our flow any more, I felt we showed experience and maturity.We kept the ball well and without being very incisive, we didn’t make a big mistake.”It was important not to concede a goal, not to get pulled back and to know that we can keep hold of a result.”Mistakes have been all too costly for a team who have overtaken Manchester United as the top English side during the last three seasons but who have a deserved reputation for under-performing in Europe.PAST ERRORS Yet to reach the Champions League semi-finals, their past blunders at Highbury include a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich after leading 2-0 in the second half and finishing 1-1 with an AS Roma side who were 1-0 and a man down after 22 minutes.Late goals have twice cost them a place in the last four, last season against Chelsea and three years ago against Valencia.Though Wenger had plenty of young talent on the bench and the likes of Robert Pires were clearly toiling, the manager made only one substitution on Tuesday — taking off young Spanish forward Jose Antonio Reyes for seasoned Brazilian midfielder Edu.”I wanted to keep the experienced players on the pitch, because a team with that experience can keep a result even if it is not as strong physically any more,” Wenger said.Overall, given that Arsenal started out with a 3-0 defeat by Inter Milan last season, Wenger expected his men to sleep easy after their least impressive display of the current campaign.With trips ahead to Rosenborg and Panathinaikos in Group E, the Frenchman said: “I think the players will feel they’ve just done their job, because it’s important to start well.For them, the three points was the most important thing.”Wenger said that midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg, sidelined by a back injury on Tuesday and replaced by Pires on the right side, should be fit for the champions’ Premier League game with Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.- Nampa-AFPManager Arsene Wenger conceded that his tiring team lacked their usual sparkle and penetration in the closing stages, but insisted they had not set out to make it a dour affair.”I don’t like boring football,” he told reporters.”You have to adapt your game to your potential and basically in the second half we didn’t have any more petrol left in the tank to play our game.”We weren’t in a position where we could go forward quickly on the break and when we couldn’t find our flow any more, I felt we showed experience and maturity.We kept the ball well and without being very incisive, we didn’t make a big mistake.”It was important not to concede a goal, not to get pulled back and to know that we can keep hold of a result.”Mistakes have been all too costly for a team who have overtaken Manchester United as the top English side during the last three seasons but who have a deserved reputation for under-performing in Europe.PAST ERRORS Yet to reach the Champions League semi-finals, their past blunders at Highbury include a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich after leading 2-0 in the second half and finishing 1-1 with an AS Roma side who were 1-0 and a man down after 22 minutes.Late goals have twice cost them a place in the last four, last season against Chelsea and three years ago against Valencia.Though Wenger had plenty of young talent on the bench and the likes of Robert Pires were clearly toiling, the manager made only one substitution on Tuesday — taking off young Spanish forward Jose Antonio Reyes for seasoned Brazilian midfielder Edu.”I wanted to keep the experienced players on the pitch, because a team with that experience can keep a result even if it is not as strong physically any more,” Wenger said.Overall, given that Arsenal started out with a 3-0 defeat by Inter Milan last season, Wenger expected his men to sleep easy after their least impressive display of the current campaign.With trips ahead to Rosenborg and Panathinaikos in Group E, the Frenchman said: “I think the players will feel they’ve just done their job, because it’s important to start well.For them, the three points was the most important thing.”Wenger said that midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg, sidelined by a back injury on Tuesday and replaced by Pires on the right side, should be fit for the champions’ Premier League game with Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.- Nampa-AFP