LONDON: Arsene Wenger insists there is no reason to panic after Arsenal slumped to a lacklustre 2-0 defeat against Chelsea in the League Cup fourth round.
Wenger’s side suffered a second successive home defeat as the Blues cruised into the last eight thanks to goals from Cesar Azpilicueta and Juan Mata.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for Wenger, who had seen his team defeated by Borussia Dortmund at the Emirates Stadium seven days previously in their Champions League group game.
Inevitably the two results will be seen as proof that Arsenal are still lacking the quality to end their eight-year trophy drought despite their impressive climb to the top of the Premier League table.
But, given that both Arsenal and Chelsea made a host of changes for Tuesday’s tie, Wenger has no intention of rushing to condemn his players as also-rans.
“Let’s not go too quick to a conclusion,” he said. “If you take the points we have made since January we have got more than anybody else.
“After losing the first game of the season against Aston Villa people said we were relegated and there would be a revolution, but now we are in a strong position in the league.
“It’s true that it is difficult to swallow what has happened in the last two weeks, but the mistakes are so obvious that they can be corrected and we have to do that.”
With Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud only introduced in the second half, Arsenal sorely lacked a cutting edge, especially with Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner delivering a poor performance in a rare start.
Yet Wenger maintained he was right to rotate his team to keep the key players fresh for the weekend’s league clash against Liverpool.
“It was a very tight game that was decided on one or two mistakes. You can’t play always with the same players, you have to rotate at some stage.
“We have to respond well on Saturday against Liverpool. They are in a good position in the league, but we have to turn this around. You know it is vital to win the big games.”
Two-goal Hernandez sends United through
Mexico striker Javier Hernandez scored twice as Manchester United reached the quarter-finals with a 4-0 victory over Norwich City at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Hernandez put United ahead from the penalty spot and headed in a second goal shortly after half-time before Phil Jones and Fabio da Silva added late goals.
As United coasted into the last eight, it was a night of several positives for manager David Moyes, whose side remain well off the pace in the Premier League.
Experienced defenders Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, who had been out since October 5 and September 28 respectively due to injury, both returned to action.
United’s unbeaten run was stretched to six matches and Wilfried Zaha, who Moyes has hinted could leave on loan in January, made his first start at Old Trafford since joining from Crystal Palace in the summer.
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