ARSENAL could not transfer their domestic form into Europe last night but still eked out a 1-0 victory against PSV Eindhoven in group E of the Champions League at Highbury. Arsène Wenger, their manager, greeted the result with a mixture of relief and disappointment.
Relief that his side held on as PSV launched a late assault, disappointment that his side were unable to reproduce the all-conquering form they have shown in the Barclays Premiership. Tiredness, Wenger reckoned, had taken its toll.
“We had a good first half but dropped away physically in the second,” Wenger said. “We have not been used to winning 1-0 lately but I suppose that will have to do this evening. Perhaps the trauma of last season, when we started the competition so badly, was still in our minds.
“It was important to win.You don’t want to lose the first game at home, like we did last year. Now we can go away in the second match, against Rosenborg, in a strong position. It was also important not to concede a goal. It is good to know that if we need a clean sheet, we can do it. With the internationals, some of my players have played four matches in ten days. We had no more petrol in the tank in the second half so all we could do was adapt to the situation. We want to play quality football and although we didn’t, it was because we couldn’t, not because we didn’t want to.”
An own goal from Alex, the Brazilian central defender, shortly before half-time was enough to give Arsenal victory. Dennis Bergkamp, the Dutch striker, agreed with his manager’s sentiments.
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“It was much harder than usual,” Bergkamp said. “But we got the goal and it was a professional performance. I’m not bothered about the display, winning was allimportant.”
Patrick Vieira, the Arsenal captain, made only his second appearance this season since recovering from a thigh injury and turning down a £23 million move to Real Madrid during the summer. In a thinly disguised dig at Madrid, Wenger had earlier accused Madrid of using dubious transfer tactics.
“To make a signing, you first contact the club and then the player,” Wenger said in an interview with Marca, the Spanish daily sports paper. “They (Madrid), sometimes, haven’t worked like that.”