Celtic gunned downed

Celtic gunned downed

Celtic striker Georgios Samaras admitted his side failed to do themselves justice in the 2-0 Champions League play-off defeat by Arsenal.

Although Arsenal had failed to seriously trouble Artur Boruc before William Gallas inadvertently diverted Cesc Fabregas's 43rd-minute free-kick into the net, the Gunners went on to enjoy a comfortable second period.

Arsenal had chances for a second before Gary Caldwell turned a Gael Clichy cross into his own net and Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia was unperturbed during the second half.

Celtic have beaten the likes of AC Milan, Juventus and Manchester United at Parkhead in recent years but they could not sustain any attacking threat against the Gunners.

Samaras, who started up front alongside Aiden McGeady, said: "They scored lucky goals but I think in the end they deserved to win because we didn't play so well. "We didn't play the ball forward to create chances, we lost a lot of simple passes.

"Up to the first goal we handled the game really well but I think after that we were a little bit sloppy. We made a lot of mistakes and didn't move the ball well. We weren't good enough. "Everyone is a little bit disappointed because we didn't play the way we want to play.

"They moved the ball better and their speed was a level above us."

Tony Mowbray's selection was a surprise to Arsene Wenger and most observers as Scott McDonald and Marc-Antoine Fortune were dropped following Celtic's 3-1 win over Aberdeen.

But Samaras said: "I wasn't surprised, there are 18 players in the first-team squad and everyone is going to start matches.

"It was no problem playing with Aiden, we are team-mates and we know each other really well."

McGeady was also comfortable with the change but he admitted it was a frustrating night.

"It was a different formation and a different style of play to what I am used to but the manager asked me to play there and I was fine with that, I enjoyed it," he said.

"It was just a bit difficult to get on the ball, especially in the first half when there wasn't much space.

"They obviously kept the ball better than us but we defensively we did well. They didn't create many chances. "The goal was quite lucky, I think Gallas was trying to get out the way of it and it ended up going in."

McGeady was the one Celtic player who looked capable of creating something and Arsenal manager Wenger agreed after the game that the Republic of Ireland international could play at the top level of the English game.

"It's a massive compliment coming from a manager like Arsene Wenger but I won't read too much into it," he said. "I'm more concerned with the result."

The defeat will leave Celtic fans contemplating Europa League football but Samaras retains hope ahead of next week's second leg.

The Greek striker took Celtic into the play-offs with a late second in Russia after Dinamo Moscow had won 1-0 at Parkhead.

"What we must do now is go to the Emirates and try to score the first goal, and after that anything can happen," Samaras said.