Wenger – Arsenal were jaded and Burnley gave everything!

On a bad night for the Gunners, Burnley recovered from a goal down to take a point of Arsenal, and Arsene Wenger lost his captain Cesc Fabregas to a hamstring injury.
Wenger praised the home team for fighting for everything and playing like it was a cup match.
“The most difficult part was to start well and be 1-0 up.” said Wenger. ”


“After that we became a little bit easy. At 1-1 we understood it was a real cup game. That is what it was really. We were a bit jaded physically and in the final third, we lacked a little bit of sharpness.
“They played a committed cup game. The second half was us dominating without really being decisive. They only played with counter-attacks but they did it very well.”
But did he think a draw was a fair result? “It is a result – fair or not fair is very difficult to rate. They gave everything tonight. They had the right attitude and commitment.”
Wenger also complained about having to play a midweek game, when some teams, including this weekends opponents Hull City, are allowed a rest.
“I think the Premier League has a basic promise to organise the fixtures in a normal way,” Wenger said.
“The guy who organised the fixtures this season must have come out of a special school, because he is more intelligent than I am!
“For sure, he has never played football, organising midweek games in a week when you have a Europa League.
“We have some teams who do not play at all. We play Sunday and Wednesday away and at home on Saturday against Hull, who have not played all week.
“It is also damaging for Burnley.”
And how bad is the injury to Fabregas?
“He is injured but for how long I don’t know. It is a hamstring. He will not play on Saturday.”
With Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham all winning, it was not a very good night for the Gunners.