Neil Ashton in the Daily Mail is reporting that Arsene Wenger accused his under-achieving Arsenal stars of lacking passion and desire during a fiery training ground inquest on Wednesday into their shambolic 3-2 defeat against Olympiacos.
The Arsenal manger, under mounting pressure following a second successive defeat in the group stage of the Champions League, criticised his players for their work-rate, intensity and attitude.
Wenger rarely raises his voice with the players, but they were left in no doubt during their usual debrief at their London Colney training centre that he expects them to raise their standards following the shocking nature of the defeat.
Arsenal face Bayern Munich, who beat Dinamo Zagreb 5-0 on Tuesday evening inside the Allianz Arena, in their next two games in the competition and face an embarrassing early exit from the European Cup.
First team players were reportedly surprised by the nature of Wenger’s criticism, but they have little to complain about after failing to beat the Greek champions at the Emirates.
Although the meeting is traditionally designed for players to air their views in a healthy exchange with coaching staff, this time they sat in silence and accepted Wenger’s frustrations.
Wenger maintained his own unique style by refusing to single out individuals during the meeting, but the first team squad have been left in no doubt that he expects them to raise their standards.
Arsenal have a massive game at home to Barclays Premier League leaders Manchester United on Sunday at the Emirates and Wenger needs a big performance from his players.