Arsene Wenger admitted his decision to drop star attacker Alexis Sanchez had backfired, but blamed “cheap goals” for his side’s 3-1 defeat at Liverpool on Saturday.
Wenger opted to leave Sanchez on the bench for the first half at Anfield and the move failed miserably as Liverpool swept into a two-goal lead, with goals from Firmino and Mane.
The Gunners boss sent on Sanchez at half-time and the Chilean was an instant hit, providing the perfectly weighted through ball assist to Danny Welbeck who reduced the deficit.
However the damage had been done, with Wenger’s side crashing out of the top four after a third defeat in their last four league games.
Wenger conceded the Sanchez decision had proved a mistake, but he also turned the blame on his players.
“Yes it did backfire, but I felt the strikers suffered in the first half and we didn’t dominate in the midfield. It is always debatable,” he said.
“We had problems getting into the rhythm of the first half. We conceded cheap goals, direct balls from the goalkeeper and you do not expect that in a game like this.
“We came back in the second half, responded well, but didn’t perform at our level in the first half.”
