Arsene Wenger says that Arsenal’s “fragile” defence cost them three points against Stoke City on Saturday.
The Gunners were 3-0 down at half-time but responded after the break to pull two goals back courtesy of Santi Cazorla’s penalty and Aaron Ramsey’s volley.
Arsenal were gaining momentum before Calum Chambers saw red for a second bookable offence.
“We gave a lot again today and we have shown a great mental response but we weren’t decisive enough in the challenges in the first half,” Wenger told Arsenal Player.
“Defensively we were not dominant enough and we paid a high price for that. We were a bit unlucky as well on one or two goals. Overall the team has put in a lot of effort with great spirit but defensively we were too fragile.
“We had chances in the first half. Giroud had a great header completely on his own and in the second half we had chances. Once again the disease we’ve had since the start of the season is from multiple set-pieces - we don’t do enough.
"This team has a great spirit but today it was important to be 0-0 at half-time. We could have won this game in the second half but unfortunately we weren’t able to do it because defensively we were not dominant enough in the challenges.”
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