Wenger bothered by failure

The Gunners on Sunday suffered their fourth Premier League defeat of the season in a 2-1 loss at North London derby rivals Tottenham.

Three points moved Tottenham into sixth place, while Arsenal are languishing in 15th position and are seemingly already struggling in the race for the top four.

Wenger, who recently passed his 15th anniversary as manager, has come under scrutiny as a result and he has admitted his disappointment at his club's struggles.

"The referee, maybe, cannot see it, but how can the linesman not see it?"
Wenger on Van der Vaart's goalQuotes of the week

Questioned on Arsenal's early season underachievement, the Frenchman told Sky Sports: "It bothers me, of course.

Response

"We are not where we want to be and it is important we respond quickly. And that is down to the next game."

Arsenal's next fixtures will come after the international break, when they host Sunderland, and Wenger will demand defensive improvements against Steve Bruce's strugglers.

Rafael van der Vaart appeared to use his left arm to control the ball before opening the scoring in the first half, while a celebration among the Tottenham supporters behind the goal could have earned the Dutchman a second booking.

Aaron Ramsey equalised after half-time, but Tottenham earned the win in the 73rd minute, when Kyle Walker's speculative long-range effort swerved past Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

Wenger was less than impressed with his defenders and the match officials, as he said: "We lost a game when we were on top. We conceded two poor goals. I think the first goal was handball and second yellow card.

Mistakes

"The referee, maybe, cannot see it, but how can the linesman not see it?

"After the second goal, I think we defended badly and made two or three mistakes in the same situation.

"Overall, it is a game we have come out of very disappointed because we feel we should not have lost it."

But Wenger did not want to criticise Szczesny, who was otherwise excellent before Walker's winner.

"He knows that you cannot blame him on it," Wenger said of his goalkeeper. "We know that Wojciech, himself, will feel, certainly, a bit unlucky on it."

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