Wenger Defends His Players Despite Question Marks Over Their Commitment in Carabao Cup Final Loss

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has refused to criticise his players following his side's humbling 3-0 loss to Manchester City in the final of the Carabao Cup on Sunday evening.

Speaking at his post-match press conference, as reported by Arsenal.com, Wenger said they simply came up against a better team on the day. 

“When you lose a game like that everything is questioned - the players, the team, the personalities,” he said. “It is now [like that] of course every time that you don't win a game."

“But we played against a good side, you cannot say that we played against an average side. They dominate the Premier League and they have good players. It is difficult to come back [when you are behind against them].”

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The defeat means that Arsenal just have the Premier League and Europa League to play for this season as they look to try to find a way to qualify for next season's Champions League. 

With the Gunners trailing fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur by ten points in the Premier League, it had been suggested that Wenger may focus on the Europa League as his priority, but he played down these claims.

“We have to prioritise the next game first before we talk about the Europa League,” he replied. 

“We will of course take the Europa League very seriously but we have as well to win big games because if you want to go far in the Europa league, you have to win big games as well. If you look at the opponents who are in the Europa League, there are big teams in there."