Wenger praises Cech, admits Sanchez is knackered

Arsene Wenger reserved praise for Olivier Giroud and Hector Bellerin after Arsenal beat Bayern Munich, but the boss admitted Alexis Sanchez is “exhausted”.

Giroud scored the opener and Bellerin assisted the second for Arsenal as they beat Bayern Munich 2-0 at the Emirates on Tuesday to reignite their Champions League hopes, and manager Wenger was full of praise for both.

“I would give him [Giroud] some credit because it is not easy, he has always played and he had a bit of a dip in form.

“I have seen that in the last two weeks that he is coming back to his best but the focus he brings and the spirit he shows is he is a winner. He gives us a different option when it does not work on the ground he gives us options in the air and both Walcott and Giroud I like. I just have to use both of them in the right way,” Wenger told Arsenal’s official site.

As opposed to Giroud’s cameo as a substitute, Bellerin played 90 minutes at right-back and engaged in an entertaining battle with Bayern’s Douglas Costa. Bellerin, who has established himself as first-choice at Arsenal in front of Mathieu Debuchy, then did brilliantly to assist Mesut Ozil’s last-minute goal.

“I think Costa is a top-class player,” said Wenger. “What I like is two top level players, in the end Hector found always the resources in the last 10-15 minutes to get on top of him and that is fantastic to see from a boy of 20 years-old.

“Of course, he was top level. I like the fact that he has that desire to get on top of his opponent until the last minute. That competitive edge he brings to the game,” the French manager added.

Wenger again hinted at resting Alexis Sanchez however, with the Chilean visibly tired throughout the clash after having little rest in between playing for club and country.

“You could see he was a bit jaded physically tonight.

“He pushes himself so much but he finished exhausted. He played two games with Chile, plus the travelling, plus Watford, plus tonight – it’s too much.”