Arsene Wenger: Arsenal manager threatens to walk out of press conference after being asked about Ospina and Jose Mourinho jibe

'Do not come back with the same story,' Wenger snapped

James Orr
Friday 02 October 2015 05:25 EDT
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Arsene Wenger reacts to Arsenal's defeat by Olympiakos this week
Arsene Wenger reacts to Arsenal's defeat by Olympiakos this week (PA)

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger threatened to walk out of his weekly press conference today after being questioned about Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, describing the continued criticism of his side as "very, very, very boring".

The Gunners were beaten 3-2 at home by Olympiacos on Tuesday night, when stand-in goalkeeper David Ospina dropped a corner over the line and the defence then conceded a third goal immediately after equalising.

Arsenal - who next face a double-header against Group F leaders Bayern Munich - came in for heavy criticism from both media and pundits alike, with former Manchester United captain Roy Keane labelling the team as "weak", "soft" and "lacking winners".

Wenger launched an impassioned defence of both his team and his own tactics in deciding to select Ospina ahead of 2012 Champions League winner Petr Cech as he faced questions ahead of Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash against Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.

"You come to the game, you judge the game and you assess if I am right or wrong. I never critiqued that, I accept your judgement of how the team played and your assessment, but I don't have to give you all the information I have to make my decisions," the Arsenal manager said.

"I make the decision that is right on the day and I am accountable on the results of my team and the way we play football."

When pressed to respond to the comments of Chelsea boss Mourinho that there was only one manager in the Premier League not under pressure, Wenger curtly replied: "Look, stop that story or we stop the press conference."

The Arsenal manager hit back at the sweeping criticism of his side.

He said: "I think you lack a bit of creativity in the press at the moment, that you follow a bandwagon that is very very, very, very boring. I don't go along with that.

"If you have any interesting questions for Sunday's game I can answer, but apart from that let's not come back always to the same story.

"You have not watched well the game on Tuesday night. You come always with that same story... you can put the goalkeeper you want in the goal, he can make a mistake, you have to accept that. It's down to everybody. But if you have watched the game and you come down to the conclusion that we lost the game because of Ospina, I question your knowledge of football."

Additonal reporting by PA

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