Arsene Wenger rues wasted chances in derby defeat against Tottenham but refuses to prioritise Europa League

Wenger said he won’t yet focus on the Europa League even though it would now seem to present a more favourable route back into the Champions League

Arsene Wenger was frustrated by Arsenal's derby defeat (AFP/Getty Images)

Arsene Wenger has claimed that Arsenal should have “finished” Tottenham Hotspur due to the amount of counter-attacks they wasted, despite conceding that Mauricio Pochettino’s team could have won by more than the eventual 1-0 scoreline. The Arsenal boss also said he will not yet prioritise the Europa League over the Premier League, even though he admitted that this was a game they “couldn’t afford to lose”.

Harry Kane’s second-half strike ensured they did so, and Wenger’s side are now seven points behind Tottenham in sixth, but the French manager claimed his side should have been ahead by then.

“The game should have been finished at half-time for me. We missed opportunities on the counter-attacks that are not missable at our level, with the final ball. In the second half we should have lost the game in the early part of the second half by more than one goal.

“We were destabilised by the goal they scored and they had two or three good opportunities where they could have scored. And in the final part of the game we should have come back to 1-1. So overall it’s a bit mixed feelings, because for long periods in the first half, with a bit more quality in our final pass we win this game.

“We had opportunities, dangerous situations that we didn’t transform into opportunities, that’s where my regret was, that in the final ball we missed something. Overall when you have two or three opportunities like we had in the final part of the game. In this kind of games you want to take your chances, you will not have 10 chances. If you don’t take them you will suffer at the end of the day. To be at the level mentally is to be capable to use the opportunities, that’s what the top level is about.”

Wenger did say he won’t yet prioritise the Europa League as Manchester United did last season, even though it would now seem to present a more favourable route back into the Champions League.

“It’s a game we couldn’t afford to lose, of course, and that makes it much more difficult now,” Wenger said. “But we have to fight as long as we have a mathematical chance. There was more at stake than just the derby, I said that before the game, that’s why it’s so disappointing to lose the game the way we lost it.

“It’s too early [to talk about the Europa League]. Football is not about switching off for three games and switching one for one game. Man United decided that once they were in the semi-final, and we are far from a semi-final. I think we have to fight to have the chance to come back. Overall for me it’s a very disappointing result, because the priority has to be to be in the Champions League through the Premier League. I’m not a great fan of the Europa League being a qualifier, I think it’s not right. But if it’s an opportunity we have to try and take it as well. But the priority is still to be in the Premier League.”