Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger was at a loss to explain why his team were so bad in the 3-1 Champions League defeat by Bayern Munich on Tuesday but he was left feeling optimistic after Kolo Toure's late goal.
"This was our worst performance so far in the Champions League," said Wenger after Arsenal had hit back from 3-0 down to give themselves a sliver of hope for the second leg at Highbury on March 9.
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Claudio Pizarro got the first two goals for Bayern and Hasan Salihamidzic made it 3-0 in the 64th minute.
Torsten Frings should have made it 4-0 when he missed a simple chance and Arsenal took advantage to hit back in the 89th minute through central defender Toure, who had been badly at fault for the first goal.
"Of course we are in a very, very negative situation," said Wenger. "I'm very disappointed with the quality of our performance. Bayern's performance was very disciplined. I expect a lot more from my team.
"But of course the goal was very important for us. It's definitely possible for us to do something in two weeks' time.
"It's very hard to find a reason why we performed so badly tonight. I really can't say why at the moment.
"I'm optimistic. I have faith in the quality of my players. It would probably be easier to cry right now."