FA Cup: Why Arsenal lost to Nottingham Forest – Wenger

Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, has blasted his team for not being “good enough”, as they were dumped out of the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Wenger’s men found themselves behind in the 20th minute, after Eric Lichaj headed in Kieran Dowell’s free-kick from a close range.

Captain Per Mertesacker levelled after only three minutes, stabbed in a loose in the area, after Theo Walcott’s free-kick was not properly cleared.

However, the hosts restored their advantage before the break, thanks to Lichaj’s superb volley from the edge of the area. Ben Brereton smashed in a penalty to make it 3-1, before Danny Welbeck pulled one back for Arsenal.

Forest restored their two-goal lead with five minutes left through Dowell’s penalty.

“Congratulate Nottingham Forest who had an outstanding performance. Always dangerous going forward and they deserved the win today. As simple as that.

“We weren’t good enough upfront, in the middle or at the back. And we paid for it. They looked sharper and had an outstanding performance today.

“We had a very difficult schedule. Many players were on the edge. I can understand the selection is questioned but it would be an easy excuse but we had 8 or 9 international players on the pitch today.

“I wouldn’t like to talk about individual performances today. It’s disappointing that we lost the game. It hurts but on the other hand we won’t win [the cup] every year.

“I knew before coming here that it would be a tricky place to come,” Wenger explained.