Wenger: 'Don't be too worried - I'm not!'

Last updated : 07 August 2005 By Chris Parry
He said:

"Chelsea were dangerous with the long balls, they were very direct and we tried more to play our usual game. I'm not here to judge Chelsea's game, they play their game and we play ours. I just feel that Drogba gave us a hard time on the long balls, but that's not a criticism."

"The result is not too important. We have won four Community Shields and no-one regards it as a trophy so I do not mind anymore. I feel our game suffered a bit from the quality of the pitch and from the fact we are not 100% sharp yet but overall I'm happy because we were consistent, our technical quality was good and our spirit was strong.

"Don't be too worried - I'm not. Did you see the game today? You can be worried if you are a Chelsea supporter. I feel we lacked a bit of sharpness but that was also down to the fact they played very deep and there was not the space behind the defence."

He went on to answer the inevitable questions regarding the state of our midfield following the departure of Patrick Vieira, saying:

"I miss all the big players I have lost in my life and Patrick was one of them, but Patrick goes and Fabregas plays and you have to accept that Fabregas had an outstanding game for 90 minutes, and it is only his second match since coming back. He scored, he didn't lose the ball, he controlled the game and for me was outstanding."

He had this to say when questioned about the error by Senderos that allowed Drogba to open the scoring:

"I do not want to blame him, it would be unfair. It was perhaps not his best performance today but the most important thing is that he learns from game to game on these kind of occasions and that he's not scared to play, even if he makes a mistake. He's a bit of a slow starter but he gets better from game to game."