Arsene Wenger Happy with Everton Win; Believes it will Boost Gunners’ Morale against Bayern Munich
Oladunjoye Opeyemi
Arsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger says he believes the manner of Arsenal’s 4-1 FA Cup quarter-final victory over Everton can inspire them against Bayern Munich as they must fight back to conquer a 2-0 deficit in the second leg of the Champions League last-16 tie in Germany on Tuesday.
“It was important for us to win to put us in a good frame of mind psychologically,” said Wenger. “We can be inspired by our focus and desire and now go to Bayern with the same spirit.”
Arsenal secured a place in the FA Cup semi-finals with a goal and an assist provided by Mesut Ozil against Everton, and moved closer to ending a barren run stretching back to their 2005.
Mesut Ozil gave the Gunners an early lead but Romelu Lukaku tapped in from almost on the goalline to equalise before half-time. Arsenal finally exerted their superiority through Mikel Arteta’s twice-taken penalty after 67 minutes before substitute Olivier Giroud struck twice in the last 10 minutes to give the hosts a winning margin that was harsh on Everton.
Ahead of Tuesday’s trip to face Bayern Munich, Wenger added: “The statistics go against us, but let’s make sure the performance goes for us and then we have a chance.”
The Frenchman was delighted with the performance of £42.4m summer signing Ozil, who has been heavily criticised recently.
“I think the goal was important for him,” said Wenger. “You sometimes want him to take more of a chance because he always looks for the good pass. I hope this encourages him, but what I also liked about him was that he looked physically regenerated with more power in his runs.
“He also did a lot of what you would call ‘dirty work’. He tracked back a lot on counter-attacks and when he behaves like that you have a better chance to win the game.”