Arsenal 2 Bayern Munich 0: Manuel Neuer error not why we lost, says Pep Guardiola
The goalkeeper was at fault for Olivier Giroud's opening goal
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Your support makes all the difference.Better to dare and fail, than not to dare, was Pep Guardiola's maxim as he defended Manuel Neuer after the goalkeeper's error handed Arsenal victory at the Emirates.
Neuer failed to claim a deep Santi Cazorla free-kick 79 minutes into a game Bayern Munich had dominated. Olivier Giroud took advantage to put Arsenal on the path to a desperately needed, but largely undeserved Champions League victory.
Bayern manager Guardiola said: “I never in my life criticise a player for taking a decision. Neuer made some great saves in the first half. We did not lose because of him.”
Neuter's error contrasted with the sustained excellence of Petr Cech at the other end, a performance that drew praise from his manager Arsene Wenger who said: “Cech was very important, he kept us in the game."
Cech was playing his first Champions League tie of the season, having previously been omitted to allow his deputy David Ospina to play. Ospina, whose error in Arsenal's previous tie contributed to a damaging Arsenal defeat, was injured last night and Wenger refused to discuss whether he regretted playing the Colombian against Olympiakos.
Wenger added of his team “They had a necessity to win the game and they did it in an intense disciplined way. Bayern had more possession but we decided to make it tight in our final third and catch them on the break.”
Guardiola, however, disputed that version arguing Bayern’s dominance of possession was because of how well his team played, not a deliberate ploy by Arsenal. “It was our choice to have control of the ball, they did not let us,” he said. "We created enough chances to win the game."
"I am so proud of my team, we played with a lot of courage to come here and take the ball from Arsenal. Sometimes you score, sometimes you don’t, we played well until the goal, at the end we played with a back three.
"We attacked everywhere, we crossed, we had chances, we had control, but in the end Arsenal scored two goals and we scored none.”
The two disappointments for Arsenal were another away win for Olympiakos, which means qualification for the knock-out stages remains difficult, and a hamstring injury to Aaron Ramsey. “He is OK but very down. His hamstring is a tough one,” said Wenger.
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