Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has played down allegations of contriving a draw with Porto in the Champions League.
The two teams needed a draw to reach the last 16 and both sat back in the final stages of a goalless encounter in which Porto twice hit the woodwork.
"It was not a good advert for football," said Wenger. "I think it only happened in the last five minutes but the game was very fair.
"Both teams tried and Porto until the 85th minute tried very hard to win."
He added: "The result does not reflect the chances Porto had.
"I felt they took a lot of risks and it was very difficult to predict a 0-0. I concede we did not create a lot.
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"Overall, I feel that it is normal in the last few minutes the teams do not take any gambles as if you concede a goal you are out."
Wenger believes his side's cautiousness and lack of threat was a culmination of the situation surrounding the match and the team's busy schedule.
"Porto played well," he said. "But we were a bit flat physically and maybe over-cautious when we won the ball.
"It was a nervous performance because we knew to go out would have been a massive disappointment.
"We didn't go forward enough or give enough support to Emmanuel Adebayor.
He added: "When you play every three days you can be less sharp sometimes.
| Winning the group means playing the second game of the next round at home and in a knockout competition that's important Arsene Wenger |
"The good thing is we didn't make any stupid mistakes despite having a young side, although we were lucky when they hit the post."
Ultimately, the result was inconsequential as CSKA Moscow lost in Hamburg as they failed to get the win they would have needed to have a chance of overtaking either Arsenal or Porto.
The Gunners finished top of the group and Wenger feels this could be crucial when the competition restarts with the knockout phase in February.
"Winning the group means playing the second game of the next round at home and in a knockout competition that's important," said Wenger.
"We needed to qualify and we did so even though we were missing some experienced players.
"Now we can put the Champions League into the cupboard until February and focus on the Premiership."
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