Wenger blames poor finishing for cup defeat

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has defended his players after their penalty shootout defeat to Bradford City in the Capital One Cup.

But Wenger admitted Tuesday’s exit from the cup competition stemmed in part from Arsenal’s poor finishing.

The Gunners were defeated 3-2 on penalties after three players missed their spot kicks, and the Frenchman blamed his side’s inability to convert their chances for their defeat.

“I must congratulate Bradford, they had a good start then defended well,” Wenger told Sky Sports.

“What happened, happened with the penalty shootout. We had many chances, the goalkeeper had a good game and we could not convert them.

“There was no lack of quality, we did not convert our chances for different reasons. It was a real cup game.”

Wenger did reserve some praise for the home side, who defended resolutely for the whole game and made life difficult for Arsenal throughout.

“We lost on penalties against a team that defended well,” he said.

“I cannot fault the effort of the team. They gave everything, but credit to Bradford, it is part of the game. When you go out of a cup, it is never good enough for Arsenal.”