It was difficult to remember him being more scathing of his players. "It was one of those nights you never forget," he said. "It is our worst night in Europe. We were punished and deservedly so. I felt we were never in the game, we were very poor offensively and defensively. It was shocking to see how we were beaten everywhere.
"There was not one moment in the 90 minutes where we were really in the game. What made it worse was that we had to chase the game. It was always the same problem, balls over the top and we were well beaten. It is difficult to analyse. I think it is better not to talk too much …and to analyse with a cooler head and regroup for the next game."
Arsenal visit Sunderland in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday, when Wenger will make changes to his team, but the deeper fear is that this display not only exposed the flaws in the squad but will undermine morale for the battle to finish fourth in the Premier League. It was not difficult to pick holes but the absence of leadership was once again highlighted.
"There was a lack of leadership," wrote the club's former captain, Patrick Vieira, on Twitter. "You cannot only blame Arsène, the players must take some responsibility as well."
Wenger said: "There is a danger [that this will have an effect on the Premier League]. A big disappointment like that has consequences on your belief. We have a lot of work to regroup and not a lot of time to prepare for Saturday's game. We need to show something completely difference on Saturday.
"We will focus on our next games. The result is a disaster, although the season is not finished. We have a big game on Saturday and it's an opportunity to show that we have character and mental strength, and that we can respond after such a shocking defeat."
Wenger was asked whether he felt his players had let him down. "They did not let me down, I think we let our ambitions down as a unit," he said. "You could blame and blame. We have to stick together and win the next game.
"The players were very ambitious in this Champions League. They are the first to be very sad. We felt powerless today to get into the game.
"I cannot say that I got everything perfect when we lost 4-0. I don't believe we made big tactical mistakes. We did not have any other choices. I felt we were weak in some departments. I felt we could have some problems in some departments but I didn't think we would not score."
The condition of the relaid San Siro turf was widely condemned, although Wenger did not seek to use it as an excuse. "It would not be fair to blame the pitch, even if the pitch is a disaster," he said. "Our performance was at the level of the pitch. It was a shocking result and a shocking performance.
"Let's be realistic. We don't play in a dream world. Maybe we have 2% or 5% statistically [to advance].
"We have to show a completely different performance and you never know. But, you have to say, realistically, we are out of the competition."
Source: David Hytner, The Guardian on 15 Feb 12
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