Champions League: Arsene Wenger frustrated as Arsenal finish as runners-up

Arsene Wenger admitted he is frustrated by Arsenal not being able to finish the job after his team ended their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 loss at Napoli.

The Gunners needed a point to be sure of seeding for the Champions League knockout stage, but, after their Group F defeat at the Stadio San Paolo coupled with a late winner for Borussia Dortmund in Marseille, they are now set to face one of Europe’s leading sides such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain in Monday’s draw.

“That is the frustration (not winning the group), because you feel there was room to do better, but it could have been worse as well tonight,” said Wenger.

“Of course, to finish second makes the potential draw more difficult. In the last four or five years, we have had very difficult draws, so maybe this time we will be more lucky.

“But if you look at the teams who are potentially there, at least we know we will have a difficult draw.

“On the other hand, we have now qualified (from the initial group stage) for a 14th consecutive year and maybe number 14 will bring us a bit of luck.”

“But for now, we have a little breather to focus on the championship. We have a very difficult game on Saturday morning (at Manchester City).

“We will see what comes out of the draw and will assess that in February, because a lot can change on both sides, on us and the team we play against, so we need to put that to the back of our minds now and focus on the championship,” he added.