LONDON-Arsene Wenger angrily accused Arsenal of complacency after they slid to an embarrassing 2-1 home defeat to Hull City on Saturday.
The Frenchman could barely contain his fury at his team, whose proud unbeaten run at Emirates Stadium, which had stretched back to April 2007, was smashed by second-half goals from Geovanni and Daniel Cousin.
Defeat also ensured Arsenal were denied returning to the top of the English Premier League table, which is occupied by Chelsea, But Wenger’s main concern was his team’s approach to a game they had been expected to win at a canter.
“We weren’t completely switched on to the level you need to be to win the game,” Wenger said.
“Human beings are not machines and perhaps subconsciously we thought we would just win it.
“We were a bit careless and it was a good lesson for us. We now know that if our attitude isn’t right, we can lose games and Hull played very well, especially in defence.
“You can never afford defeats but it is very concerning to lose a game like we did today. We had a good chance to go top of the league but at the end of the day, if we had had the same level of concentration as Hull we would have won the game.”
Wenger, who had seen his team forge ahead through Paul McShane’s 50th-minute own goal, has urged the north Londoners to bounce back from this damaging defeat against FC Porto in today’s Champions League group match.
“We responded well after losing at Fulham earlier this season and now we have to have an outstanding game tonight,” he said.
“The dressing room is very shocked and quiet but that is part of mental strength, to deal with that and show how united we are.
“We have to repair the damage done psychologically because this loss was unexpected. It will be difficult to swallow for us. I am confident we will respond well because the disappointment is so deep.
“The overall spirit is very good. We were just caught against Hull by being too easy. That won’t happen today because Porto are always a difficult side to play.”
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