Wenger: 'We have to recover quickly'
On Lionel Messi's four goals...
"First I want to congratulate Barcelona and wish them good luck. They over the two games they deserved to qualify. They are a very good side but of course they have Messi who can make a difference at any moment in the game. He can take advantage of every mistake we make."
On his team's performance...
"I believe we played quite well. We started strong, had a good opportunity to score the second goal and were a bit unlucky because we had a good chance when Bendtner was not offside. The regret I have is that we made too many mistakes defensively for a game like that. They were always first on the ball and we were punished for it."
On if Barcelona will win the Champions League...
"They are in the Semi-Final and they have a chance to win it. They have players coming back and I believe they are the best side at the moment in Europe. It is a cup and if we had taken every opportunity tonight we could have made life very difficult for them."
On if he is worried that Arsenal's title challenge might suffer...
"Of course you worry because it is a big disappointment and we have to recover quickly because we cannot drop any points. That is why we have to recover and try to focus on the Premier League completely."
On if Barcelona's quick response after going 1-0 down decided the tie...
"I feel before they equalised we had a great chance to score the second goal but we made a bad decision with the final ball. Had we scored then the doubt would have been serious. They came back straight after that to 1-1."
On if White Hart Lane is the best or worst place to have the next match...
"For us over the years it has been a place where we have done well so we will not go there with a negative history. But it forces you to focus straight away because you know that it will be a derby."
On if he needs a new centre-back...
"It is a question that is very difficult to answer because at the moment that is not the priority. The priority tonight is to recover from the game. We have played quite well with a lot of character, as ever, but we made too many mistakes. Silvestre and Campbell are two good players. That is why the choice [of who to play] is difficult."
On if Messi is one of football's all-time greats...
"I don't know. He is very young but he can achieve a lot. For example I don't know how many players in the world who could score that fourth goal he scored. It looks impossible but he makes it possible. He has something exceptional and he is in his prime. This boy now has six or seven years in front of him and if nothing happens to him he can reach unbelievable levels."
On his side's chances over the two legs...
"If you look at the age of our team we were very, very young today. What we have done is very positive because we had six or seven players under 23 in the team and we had plenty of opportunities. Where we have shown that we lack maturity is in the final ball."
On the defeat...
"The defeat is very difficult to handle because when you go out of the Champions League the next day you are in front of a very empty future. We have to deal with the disappointment and make sure that we are ready for the next game."
On if there is a shift away from English domination in the Champions League...
"It is a good question that Manchester United has to answer tomorrow. You have more teams in Europe now who can compete with English sides, that is for sure. That was not the case two or three years ago. We have more competition."
On what he said to Pep Guardiola after the game...
"I congratulated him and wished him well for the rest of the competition."
On if there is more to Barcelona than Messi...
"Barcelona is more than Messi. They have other players in the team who are top class. They are an exceptional team with an exceptional player and in the exceptional games the exceptional players make the difference."
On how much Arsenal missed Cesc Fabregas...
"It is difficult to know how much we missed Fabregas. Tonight we missed seven or eight players but if you asked me before the game I would love to have Fabregas."
On if Arsenal gave Barcelona too much respect...
"No. I don't think we gave them too much respect tonight. We started well, we won some good possession from Barcelona and we dominated through some spells in the game. They are a good side. In the first game, yes [we respected them too much] but I don't think we did tonight."
On if he might be tempted to dip into the transfer market this summer...
"We are at a stage where we develop the players. Today in midfield we had Walcott who is 21, Bendtner up front who is 22, Nasri, Diaby and Denilson are 23, 22. I think they have shown some great qualities and will be stronger every year. We have to add something that is for sure but we have some time to think about that."
Quelle: arsenal.com
