Wenger pleased with 'lucky' Arsenal

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes his side were lucky to win against Fulham but the Frenchman is satisfied with three more points in the bag as the Gunners chase a Champions League spot.

Fulham’s Steve Sidwell was dubiously sent off in the 12th minute but Arsenal failed to make the most of their man-advantage and only a Per Mertesacker header from a set piece saved the Emirates club from blushes.

Speaking to the reporters after the match, Wenger said:

“Of course for us after the draw against Everton it was important to take the three points. It was a positive first-half, but for some reason, and I don’t know why, our game in the second-half deteriorated and our passing became sloppy. We played with less pace in our game and you have to give them credit – they are a good side and they tried like mad. They played very well today.

“It became hard, and in the second-half especially I think we played with a hand-brake. We just wanted to keep the lead without taking any risk and had not enough penetration. When a team is down to ten men they focus on defending deep and they defended well. We did not give them enough problems today.”

Striker Olivier Giroud was also shown a straight red in the dying stages of the match and the manager believes both sending offs in the match were justified. A straight red means Giroud will sit out three of Arsenal’s last four games of the campaign and Wenger admits it will be difficult to manage without the striker.

“I spoke with Giroud and he said he slipped when he went for the ball and I don’t complain about it.

“We have to find a solution up front for the final games, but that can happen and we have to deal with it.

“The result is the most important thing now, but the best way to get the result is still to play well. I think the nerves played a part in the second-half as we did not want to be exposed and we lost our fluency. We have always had difficult games here and we lost here last season. But we won this season so that is a good sign. Look at Everton losing today, both teams gave everything and you could feel some players were tired.”