Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger was very pleased with the display of his players as they came from two goals down to get a 3-2 victory over Ludogorets.
Arsenal produced a brilliant display to reach the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League. Wenger said he thought Mesut Ozil made a mistake as he tried to outfox the defense of the opposition before he scored the amazing match winner.
“To me it didn’t look like the optimal solution, but when the ball was in the net I thought it was. The great players make the right decisions in the game situations they face. They always make the optimal solution,” Wenger said.
The former Real Madrid player chipped the ball over the Ludogrets goalkeeper before moving to beat two defenders and scoring in an empty net. The brilliant individual goal has earned him praise from several quarters. Arsenal humbled the hosts two weeks ago by whopping them 6-0 at the Emirates. The Bulgarians were determined to prove a point, hence their quick two goals under 15 minutes. Arsenal had to dig deep to get the victory.
Mohammed Elneny came into the game as a substitute. He was the one that released the pass to Ozil. Ozil calmly beat the goalkeeper in the 87th minute by lifting the ball over him. His winner sealed the Gunners spot in the last 16.
“You wanted him to take maybe his chance earlier, but at the end he had enough skill to prove that he was right,” Wenger added.
Arsenal lead Group A with 10 points. Paris St. Germain have the same number of points, but the leader would be determined after the final two games. Arsenal host PSG later in the month before travelling to Switzerland early December for the final group game.