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Arsenal vs Everton: Arsene Wenger rejects Louis van Gaal's call for winter break and says he'd 'cry' if festive fixtures were removed

Van Gaal believes the Premier League is suffering from playing too many fixtures through the winter but Wenger had admitted he is a fan of the festive period

Jack Pitt-Brooke

Friday 23 October 2015 10:18 BST

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger (Getty Images)

Arsene Wenger admitted this morning that he would “cry” if the Christmas fixtures were to be removed from the Premier League calendar.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal said that the busy Christmas calendar was “evil”, but Wenger leaped to the defence of the traditional festive football binge, saying that it was so important to fans – not just in Britain but across the world – that tampering with it would be unimaginable.

Wenger has always been a progressive manager, who likes to carefully and scientifically balance his players’ workloads. On this issue, though, he is a hard-line traditionalist.

“I have a lot of respect for Louis van Gaal but I don’t agree with him on that,” Wenger said at his pre-match press conference this morning. “Maybe it’s because I’ve been in England for such a long time. I had his ideas when I arrived here but today I would cry if you changed that because it’s part of English tradition and English football.”

Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

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1/23Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Petr Cech - 8 out of 10

Needed to be at his commanding best against the attacking wonders of Bayern, and certainly was. Saved well from Thiago on 10 minutes and carried on from there, showing a reassuring confidence from crosses. In particular a late save from Lewandowski seemed to have saved Arsenal from disappointment.

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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Hector Bellerin - 5 out of 10

After the unpleasant grilling he was given by Douglas Costa it is worth reminding ourselves this is a player with less than a year of first-team football to his name. And it showed, as time and again he struggled to come up with anything that could stop his opponent.

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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Per Mertesacker- 7 out of 10

The centre-back was at the heart of the action throughout, and had to be at his reliable best as cross after cross came towards his head. Happily for Arsene Wenger he was, clearing with whatever part of his body he had to.

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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Laurent Koscileny - 6 out of 10

A rather quieter night for the other centre-back, in part aided by the consistent performances of the pair around him. But yet again Koscielny scarcely put a foot wrong, and kept a careful eye on Lewandowski.

2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc

Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Nacho Monreal - 8 out of 10

So often tagged with the term reliable this was far more than that from the left-back. His positioning was first-rate and it spoke volumes of his performance that Muller enjoyed long periods of near anonymity.

2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc

Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Francis Coquelin - 6 out of 10

The centre-back was at the heart of the action throughout, and had to be at his reliable best as cross after cross came towards his head. Happily for Arsene Wenger he was, clearing with whatever part of his body he had to.

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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Santi Cazorla - 6 out of 10

Arsenal’s gameplan necessitated that their deep-lying playmaker play at his best to instigate passing movements. Too often he did not. At half-time he had twice given the ball away loosely in his own half. It was less of a problem in the second half but this was not vintage Cazorla.

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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Aaron Ramsey - 6 out of 10

A strong defensive shift from the Welshman, who tucked in well on the regular occasions when Arsenal were out of possession. This was not his usual attacking performance, but he was a vital component until picking up a hamstring injury on the hour mark.

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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Alexis Sanchez - 8 out of 10

Another excellent performance from Sanchez, who made as great a player as Philipp Lahm look supremely average. Wherever, whenever he just ran at defenders, creating opportunities aplenty in the process. On the rare occasions when he did give away the ball he simply turned around and won it back.

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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Mesut Ozil - 7 out of 10

Ozil’s revival continues, even if he was not quite able to provide a telling touch to the game. Unlike his colleagues his passing on the counter was accurate, though his eagerness to drift into space too often left him unable to get where the action was.

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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 6 out of 10

Kept Bernat plenty busy after his introduction, providing direct running at a time when Arsenal were running short on ideas.

Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Olivier Giroud - 7 out of 10

One clear-cut chance, one goal. It may not be the most beautiful of finishes, but it was by some distance his most important in an Arsenal shirt. As his colleagues looked to stem back the tide his ability to hold the ball up was vital.

Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Manuel Neuer - 5 out of 10

For 75 minutes he reminded us why he was the best keeper in the world. Then he looked like David Ospina. Saved well from Ozil early on but the diving stop from Walcott’s close range header will live long in the memory. Not as long as his blunder for Giroud’s goal though.

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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Jerome Boateng - 6 out of 10

The criticism of Boateng has often been that he is prone to falling asleep. And there were certainly times when he allowed himself, and Walcott, to drift away. Looked more composed in the second half, stepping forward well to cut out attacks.

Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Philipp Lahm - 5 out of 10

Having spent many recent games in midfield he often struggled with the pace and aggression of Sanchez, lacking the yard of pace that made him such a dangerous right back previously.

Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

David Alaba - 7 out of 10

At the home of Arsenal this man put in a performance Tony Adams would have been proud of. His reading of the oppositions attacks was outstanding, he was often the last-man between Theo Walcott and Manuel Neuer.

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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Juan Bernat - 6 out of 10

Arsenal focused their attack on the Bayern right, leaving Bernat with a quiet shift defensively. He did all that could be asked of him at the back and was scarcely needed going forward as Douglas Costa ran riot.

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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Xabi Alonso - 6 out of 10

Like Alaba he played a key role in stemming Arsenal’s counter-attacking sallies, in particular blocking off passing avenues for Arsenal’s deep midfielders to release their attackers on a regular basis.

2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc

Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Thiago - 6 out of 10

The most influential of Bayern’s midfielders in the early stages, he brought impressive verticality to the play, linking well with both Muller and Costa. His passing was unerringly accurate, but he was never able to play the crucial final pass.

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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Arturo Vidal - 5 out of 10

One of the few players in the game to have what appeared to be a genuine off-night, he simply could not get on the ball often enough to influence the game. He particularly struggled to find space from which to drive forward and it was little surprise he made way first.

Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Diego Costa - 8 out of 10

A sheer joy to watch, with the pace and trickery to make Hector Bellerin look ordinary for the first time in a long while. His flicks , tricks and dribbling will remain the highlight of the night for anyone at the Emirates, has a new star been born?

Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Thomas Muller - 6 out of 10

The Emirates did not see much of Muller at his best as he sat wide on the right in what was a relatively unremarkable 4-3-3 from Guardiola. Did not drift into space as we know he can, though much of was down to the close coverage he received from Monreal.

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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich player ratings

Robert Lewandowski - 6 out of 10

Well marshalled by Mertesacker and Koscielny, but on the rare occasion she could get on the ball he reminded us why he is Europe’s most fearsome striker, forcing several good diving saves from Cech.

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The argument is both romantic and economic. The Christmas fixtures – Arsenal play on 21, 26, 28 December and 2 January – are part of the football furniture here, but they are also part of the global appeal of the Premier League.

“The whole of Europe comes to England to watch the game,” Wenger said. “It’s a very important part of us being popular in the world, that nobody works at Christmas and everybody watches the Premier League.”

The most important thing is they contribute goals

 <p>Arsene Wenger, Arsenal manager</p>

Of course, Wenger does want a break, but he would rather it followed the Christmas fixtures rather than replacing them. “I want to go on with [Christmas football] yes,” Wenger said. “I always pleaded for a break after January 1, but we have to keep this tradition alive.”

Wenger said that he hoped Aaron Ramsey would return from his hamstring injury after the next international break, targeting the trip to West Bromwich Albion on 21 November. That would mean it was a one-month lay-off for the Wales midfielder.

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