Preston vs Arsenal: Arsene Wenger admits Gunners came close to suffering first third round defeat under him

The Gunners needed a late strike by Olivier Giroud to assure themselves of progression to the fourth round

Wenger is yet to go out at the FA Cup's third round stage as Arsenal manager (Getty)

Arsene Wenger admitted he was dangerously close to being knocked out of the FA Cup at the third-round stage for the first time in his career.

Arsenal required a second-half comeback to overcome Preston and, although goals from Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud secured a 2-1 win, Wenger admitted he was angry with his players as they went into the interval a goal behind.

“Yes, I was angry,” the Arsenal manager remarked after a thrilling cup tie. “We are top-level Premier League and we were dominated in the first half. Preston had chances and we were just not at the pace of the game that the game demanded. We did not want to go home and be out of the cup.

“We were not at the races in the first half and we were beaten everywhere. We were not compact, we didn’t win the duels and we were outplayed. But sometimes, when you come out of Christmas and you think it is going to be a bit easier, it is difficult in the FA Cup.

“Someone reminded me that I had never been knocked out of the FA Cup at this stage in my career,” he said. “But in the first half it was close.”

As he had at Bournemouth on Tuesday night, Giroud was the central figure in an Arsenal comeback and it was his late goal that ensured there would be no replay at the Emirates Stadium.

“I named him captain as I like to rotate a bit,” said Wenger. “He went through a period when he was in discomfort as he didn’t play and during this period, which was quite long, he kept his focus and worked hard. He has shown leadership qualities which is why I made him captain.”

Wenger went out of his way to congratulate a Preston side whose form at Deepdale may have been indifferent – they have won once at home since mid-October – but who took the game to Arsenal superbly.

“I would like to congratulate Preston on the quality of their play, especially in the first half,” he said. “We were outpaced, they played with desire, enthusiasm and quality and they gave us many problems.

“There was full commitment for 90 minutes and it was a great cup tie. We needed to dig deep to win. In the second half it was all us but Preston defended well and we needed to do something special to win. It was a great cup tie.”

Grayson found Preston's defeat particularly tough to stomach (Getty)

For the Preston manager, Simon Grayson, who had knocked out Manchester United out at the third-round stage when manager of Leeds, the defeat seemed especially harsh.

“It was hard to speak to the players after the game and it was hard to know what to say,” he said. “The way we played in the first half was as good as we have played since I have been here. We just didn’t score that second goal.

“It was a cruel way to lose a game because a replay was nothing less than we deserved. Arsenal are fortunate to have gone through and our players have made the club very proud.”