Message from Mick

Dear Coxhoe Branch,

Arsene Wenger said afterwards that we made it tough for them in the first hour - until they got the first goal. They were much better than us after that.
Maybe Sunday [against Newcastle] took its toll on a few of our players - Nyron, Justin Hoyte, Steve Caldwell, Liam Lawrence.
They were better than us and mullered us in the last half an hour. They were stronger, quicker and it shows the benefit of getting the best youngsters around.
If they can let Justin Hoyte go it shows what kind of squad they've got. Arsenal have got real strength in depth.
I didn't know much about their full-back, Eboue, then he turned up and rattled one in. In the end they were better than us.
It would have been lovely to put on a show for the big crowd but it wasn't to be. It was not going to happen against them.
Let me tell you they are no ordinary set of reserves - they've got the best young talent around.
I'm sorry that we did not put on a great performance in front of the 48,000. It wasn't to be because they were better than us, simple as that.
Arsenal's players had something to prove, they want to get into the first team. Arsene Wenger said afterwards that it might have been easier for us playing against their first team, because the attitude might have been different.
A lot of those players would get into other people's first teams, no question.
I wanted to play the game tonight [two days after the Newcastle game] to give us more time to prepare for Portsmouth [on Saturday]. Hopefully that will pay dividends.

All the best,

Mick