Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger accused his players of complacency after an unconvincing display in their 1-1 draw with Southampton on Tuesday. The Gunners had scored 15 goals in winning their previous four games but were unable to produce a similar performance against the Saints.
"Our game lacked purpose, penetration and speed, all qualities we have usually," Wenger said after the game. "Maybe we thought we had made enough progress and eased off but that doesn't work at this level."
Wenger was critical of his side's approach, especially after the great displays against Reading and Newcastle. "We scored seven on Saturday against Newcastle and five at Reading," Wenger reminded. "I felt that we lacked purpose against Southampton and it was more mental than physical."
Southampton took a deserved lead through Gaston Ramirez early on but then conceded an equaliser just before half-time when Guly do Prado deflected Theo Walcott's free-kick into his own net. The home side dominated the second half but were denied a winning goal when Ramirez's strike was ruled out for a push on Laurent Koscielny.
"We come out with a point but it is a lucky point," added Wenger. "We are frustrated because we didn't create enough. Recently we scored goals but today we were not creative, didn't play with purpose. I give credit to Southampton because they wanted it, defended well and fought for every ball. But we had a lack of offensive quality today."
Arsenal remain fifth in the Premier League table, four points behind fourth-placed Chelsea. The Gunners' points tally of 34 after 20 matches is their lowest in seven seasons. Wenger added: "Given our performance a point was OK but given our target we dropped two points today."
Arsenal's next match is at home against defending champions Manchester City on January 13, here are the odds for the game from Bet365:
Arsenal win - 13/8
Draw - 12/5
Man City win - 8/5
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