Making contact: Cesc
Fabregas' free kick hits William Gallas
Arsene Wenger accused
Celtic
of trying to rough up
his players after two slices of luck put Arsenal
on the brink of their
12th successive Champions League
campaign.
William Gallas scored the first
fortunate goal of a 2-0 win just before the break when a shot from
Cesc Fabregas hit him on the backside and curled just inside
goalkeeper Artur Boruc’s left-hand post.
The second came when Celtic
defender Gary Caldwell turned in Gael Clichy’s left-wing cross at
the near post.
But Wenger was left fuming by some
of the tackling and waved an imaginary card at Swiss referee
Massimo Busacca in response to one meaty challenge from Glenn
Loovens near the end.
‘There were some bad fouls and the
referee took some time to intervene,’ said
Wenger.
‘We got some harsh treatment. I am
very happy with my players for coping with the physical approach of
the Celtic players. I can understand it from their point of view
but I am impressed with our strength, our belief and our desire to
do well.
‘It was a fierce battle. Overall we
dominated the game, but Celtic were always willing and always
fighting. We needed a strong Arsenal performance.
‘The crowd was up for it and the
team was up for it and if it had been an average performance we
would not have won.
‘Celtic were always fighting and
counter-attacking and in the end, despite being in control, we
scored two lucky goals.
‘But yes, of course, we merited the
good fortune. We forced them to make one or two
mistakes and we had plenty of chances in the first 15 minutes of
the second half.
‘The atmosphere was better than the
Premier League and people were fair. Celtic were organised and even
at 2-0 they never gave up.’
The Gunners must protect their lead
at the Emirates Stadium next Wednesday to
join
Manchester
United,
Liverpool
and Chelsea
in the group stages of
the Champions League.
‘We have a good advantage,’ said
Wenger. ‘But it is a 180-minute tie and we are only in front after
90. Our purpose is to win the home game and qualify. It would not
be serious to take the game in a non-serious way. We want to finish
the job.’
Celtic manager Tony Mowbray
admitted the nature of Arsenal’s goals was disappointing but
praised the visitors for their football.
‘Arsenal were very good on the
night, exceptional with the ball but brilliant without the ball,’
said Mowbray. ‘It was a frustrating night. We’ve got to go there
next week and score the first goal and if we do that it might make
it interesting.’
Caldwell said: ‘They were better
than us, they passed the ball better. We’ve seen how far we have to
go to get to that level. They’re one of the best teams in the
Champions League.’
