Arsenal suffered a 2-1 defeat away at Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday night, in their first UEFA Champions League game of the season.
Giroud was sent off after 40 minutes when already 1-0 down, resulting in the Gunners playing the majority of the game with only 10 men. Theo Walcott scored Arsenal’s only goal of the night, as the north London side failed to overturn the deficit.
Speaking after the game, Theo Walcott said that he was disappointed in the end result, but took many positives from the display.
It’s always difficult when you’re playing with 10 men.
We’ve had experience of playing against 10 men we actually found it quite difficult. To be honest, you wouldn’t have thought we had 10 men.
We played extremely well in the second half, we had a lot of the ball and we had to go for it, to be bold and wise. We need to move on now.
We’ve got a big, important game at the weekend but everyone will be disappointed.
After a disappointing night, preparation will be underway immediately with the next two games being crucial. Arsenal travel to west London for the early kick-off on Saturday, coming up against a struggling Chelsea side, who have conceded the most goals in the league so far. The Gunners continue to travel away from home after the visit to Stamford Bridge, against sworn rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday evening.
Up next in the Champions League game is Olympiacos on the 29th of September, where a win will be vital, according to Theo Walcott.
We can’t blow one result and sat it’s the end of the season.
We’ve still got a long Champions League run.
We’ve had setbacks before and we’ve managed to bounce back from them.
Arsenal currently sit 3rd in Group F after the first fixture. The only team below them is their next opponents Olympiacos, after suffering a 3-0 loss against Bayern Munich.
