Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said his side had lacked a spark in attack during their 1-0 Europa League loss at Cologne on Thursday.

However, the Gunners still clinched top spot in Group H thanks to a 0-0 draw between BATE Borisov and Red Star Belgrade.

Sehrou Guirassy scored from the penalty spot in the 62nd minute after he went down in the area under contact from Mathieu Debuchy.

Arsenal could not respond despite dominating possession as Wenger's second string again struggled to create quality chances.

"We had a lot of possession. We lost the game to one shot, basically," the manager said.

"It was a very nice penalty that we have to take on board. It was honestly not a penalty at all.

"We missed a little bit of accuracy in our passing in the final third that is required to score more goals. We had plenty of dangerous situations, but we always missed a little something to finish our chances.

"I must also say that Cologne defended with spirit, with commitment and overall the crowd was absolutely fantastic for them."

Arsenal were held to a 0-0 home draw by Red Star in their previous game, and stuttered in attack once more despite the return of Danny Welbeck alongside Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud.

Welbeck came off at half-time, but Wenger said that had been planned ahead and was not the result of another injury.

And although Arsenal had already qualified for the knockout stages before the game, but the manager said his players still had the right mentality.

"I must say that the attitude was good," he added. "It took us some time to inject some pace into the game. In the second half, it was much quicker.

"The pitch was a little handicapped tonight, and the players were because of it, but I cannot fault the preparation or the concentration of the players."

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by Mattias Karen

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