Arsene Wenger Says It Is Too Difficult To Coach Lower Tier Clubs In England After The Sutton Game

Feb 21, 2017 at 7:38 PM

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Arsene Wenger Says It Is Too Difficult To Coach Lower Tier Clubs In England After The Sutton Game

After the disastrous trip to Bayern, Arsenal were back to winning ways, but only against a 5th tier English side in the FA Cup earlier this week.

Goals from Theo Walcott and Lucas Perez were enough for the Gunners to seal the tie and enter the next round, where they are drawn against Lincoln, another team that is on a fairytale journey in the competition this season.

Paul Doswell’s side, who are 105 places below Arsenal in England’s domestic leagues, put on a decent show, giving the Gunners a run for their money and they can keep their head held high after this game.

Arsene Wenger, speaking after the game, revealed that he was pleasantly surprised by the way Sutton United setup on the night and went on to say that it would be difficult for him to coach in the lower divisions for English football.

“[I was surprised] by the speed of their game. We had to keep our focus, I must give credit to the players who were professional and kept their focus,” Wenger said, talking about Sutton’s approach to the game.

“If we had come here in a relaxed mood we would have gone out because they produced quality,” he added.

It is too difficult to compete with such teams on a regular basis, he explained.

“They are basically in division five and they are 17th out of 24. I will never go down there [to manage] because it is too difficult,” Wenger insisted.

The French manager is under immense scrutiny over the results in recent games but he seems to be handling the pressure well.

He was criticized for using star winger Alexis Sanchez late in the game against Sutton but Wenger started to defend himself by saying that he could not take any risks late in the game away from home.

“We could not afford a light team selection and that is why I came with basically all the players who were available because we couldn’t afford to go out, we can never afford it,” Wenger added.

The 6-time FA Cup winners, Arsenal, managed to move into the next round of the competition but they will have to be at their best to go all the way this season.

They will also have to stay strong in the Premier League if they are to go all the way as the amount of competition for a place in the top-4 is getting stronger and stronger.

Wenger will know his team has enough quality to go all the way this season and they will now turn their attention to the trip to Anfield next weekend.

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