Sunday Feb 17 2008 12:42
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger slammed the
Old trafford pitch in the wake of his side's 4-0 FA Cup fifth round defeat to
Manchester United.
The Gunners were swept aside by their main Premier League rivals on Saturday evening with United racing into a two-goal lead inside the opening 20 minutes.
Two further goals either side of a straight red card for EmManUel Eboue completed a miserable evening for the north London club, but afterwards Wenger blamed their display on a sub-standard playing surface.
He said: "The groundsman had as bad a day as us.
"You will see us in a different shape when we come back (in the league in April) and on a different pitch.
"The pitch is a disgrace. You have players worth £25million and you cannot play a pass without it bouncing."
However, Wenger did concede that his side had been out-played by a rampant United.
"It is difficult to find any positives from the performance, apart from the fact we do not have any more injuries," he said.
"Even before the sending off we never looked like we could come back.
"It was difficult. We did not seem the have the physical resources that were needed.
"We were not up to our level. We need to pick ourselves up quickly because we have a massive game on Wednesday and need to be at our best against AC Milan."
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