Arsene Wenger blasts Jack Grealish’s performance after Man City’s ‘mistakes’ in Champions League exit

Arsene Wenger has blasted Jack Grealish for his defending in Manchester City’s Champions League semi-final defeat to Real Madrid.

The former Arsenal manager thinks Grealish was at fault for Los Blancos second goal by not showing enough ‘fight’ to prevent Dani Carvajal’s cross. Rodrygo then leapt above City’s defence and headed home Real’s second goal of the evening.

This before Karim Benzema converted a penalty from the spot, giving Los Blancos a 6-5 win on aggregate over both legs.

Speaking to beinSPORT after the match, Wenger said: "When you look at 1-1, when Grealish is against Carvajal, he is passed easily, too easily. He must absolutely fight to stop that cross.

"You do not want the ball in the box, anything can happen when everybody goes forward. That is where City did not secure the game, defending on the sides. Because they conceded, even when you look when Benzema gave the ball back, they didn’t really attack the ball. The defenders, they made big mistakes.”

Wenger went on to discuss how ‘special’ Real’s comeback was at the Bernabeu.

"When you’re a manager and you lose a game, you go home and always think, "what have I done wrong?” he added.

“The second thing I would say is that what is surprising for me is that this team from Madrid, when they need an answer to a problem, they always find a solution.

"Let’s not forget they scored six goals against City, they scored six against Chelsea. It is not always the case that City concede six goals in two games. They have something special."

This isn’t the first time Grealish has come under fire for his performances this season, with the England international criticised for his contribution to Guardiola’s team.

The 26-year-old, who arrived at the Etihad Stadium last summer for £100m from Aston Villa - a record Premier League fee, has scored five goals and registered just three assists this campaign.

With the Sky Blues now having only the Premier League to focus on, Grealish will be hoping he will get opportunities in their remaining four league games in order to better his goal return last season.

During his final campaign with Villa, he netted six times in 26 league fixtures, while producing 12 assists.