Arsene Wenger has stated that his team must improve a lot if they are to compete for the league title at the end of the campaign. The Arsenal manager was speaking after the 2-2 draw with Everton in the second match of the season. The gunners return from their difficult trip to Goodison Park with a point, but it could have easily been the first defeat of the season. Arsenal were trailing a brilliant Everton 2-0 going into the half-time break. However, Wenger made a crucial changes to the team that helped them achieve a comeback that would have been almost unimaginable a few years ago.
Arsenal, with almost a similar team, were thrashed heavily at this ground last season. However, they appear to have learnt from their mistakes after they managed to prevent yet another slide in the second half. The two dropped points is unlikely to worry Wenger a lot, but the Frenchman said after the encounter that the team should be awake throughout the 90 minutes. Frenchman Olivier Giroud was a key difference in the match after he came on for an ineffective Alexis Sanchez after the break. He provided a direct physical presence that provided a lot of chances for Arsenal. Giroud scored the equaliser with only a few minutes remaining on the clock.
“We’ll say it’s a great performance because we were 2-0 down. It was great spirit from the boys because it was not easy. At half-time the manager said there was space to create opportunities and we believed we could do it. We have learned a lot from last year from when we were playing against these top teams. We didn’t give up until the last second and that was important. This is a game to remember for us,” said the Frenchman after the match.
