Wenger believes Arsenal will enter final despite shock loss

IPSWICH: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident his side will still reach the English League Cup final despite losing the first leg of the semi-final 1-0 at Division Two club Ipswich Town.

But the Frenchman conceded the Gunners will have to play much better in the second leg at the Emirates Stadium on Jan 25 if they are to meet either West Ham or Birmingham at Wembley.

A goal from Tamas Priskin, the Hungarian forward, in the 78th minute sealed victory for an Ipswich side that had sacked manger Roy Keane the previous week, following a so far struggling season in English football’s second tier.

On Saturday they suffered a 7-0 drubbing at the hands of Chelsea in the FA Cup.

“I believe we’ll turn it round, but we got a good warning tonight (Wednesday),” Wenger said after the upset result here at Portman Road.

“We’ll have to put in a better performance. With playing so many games you could see tonight that we had no spark,” the Frenchman added.

“Ipswich were sharper and we made a mistake which they took advantage of. The good thing is that we play at home in the second leg and that can make a difference. We will not always be as lacking in creativity as we were tonight.”

Priskin had previously seen an effort in the first half – an acrobatic overhead kick – ruled out for offside but marked his first start since December with a cool finish from Colin Healy’s through-ball after outpacing Switzerland defender Johan Djourou.

Wenger – desperate to end Arsenal’s six-year wait for a trophy – is trying to recruit an experienced defender before the transfer window shuts.

But he refused to blame those who formed Arsenal’s back-line, in the absence of a number of players either through injury or suspension, for the defeat.

“As a team, we did not put in the performance we wanted tonight,” he said. “In every department we were below our usual level. It would be unfair to put the blame only on the defenders.

“We looked quite in control in the first half. In the second half we looked more vulnerable defensively and I’ll put that down to fatigue.

“We lost the game because we didn’t play as well as we can.

“That would be the main lesson. That we are short defensively, maybe, because we only have two central defenders.”