Arsene Wenger has revealed the reasoning behind his team selection following Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Gunners started with Alexis Sanchez up front, despite recent injury concerns, while Carl Jenkinson replacing the injured Hector Bellerin at right-back.
Aaron Ramsey made his first Premier League start since August in midfield along with Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin with Alex Iowbi dropping out.
The Gunners put in a disappointing display at Old Trafford but Wenger says he chose his starting XI because he was expecting a tough battle against Jose Mourinho’s side.
“I knew it would be a bit more of a physical battle so I chose players who have experience and fight,” Wenger told the official
“We want to be about style and steel but today we were more about steel than style. There’s a remarkable resilience in the squad and that’s why we came back to 1-1. We didn’t have the usual fluency in our game. Was that because Manchester United blocked us well? I think it was because we were also not at our best going forward.”
While Arsenal rescued a point on Saturday the display will be a concern and raises selection questions particularly ahead of Wednesday’s crucial clash against PSG.