adminside’s inconsistency and criticised their mental sharpness after they needed an own goal to snatch a draw from Southampton only three days after beating Newcastle United 7-3.
But he confirmed that his search for a remedy will not include bringing back the club’s former striker Thierry Henry for a second comeback season.
Just when it looked as though the Gunners had finally turned the corner, they laboured their way to a point against lowly Southampton.
And they only got that thanks to an own goal from Guly Do Prado, who sliced Theo Walcott’s free-kick past keeper Artur Boruc.
Wenger, whose side were looking for a fifth successive Premier League win, said: “Considering our performance, I don’t think we deserved any more.
“It is nothing to do with the physical side. Maybe we thought we scored seven against Newcastle so we would score seven again.
“I felt that we lacked purpose in our game and it was more a mental thing.
“It is two points lost if you look at the overall target we had for Christmas. It is frustrating and disappointing as we didn’t create a lot. Our game lacked purpose, penetration and speed — all qualities we usually have.
“It is frustrating. There was no specific reason for it. We prepared well and maybe Southampton deserve some credit as well.
“We did not have enough quality to take them out of position and take advantage of that. We have to analyse that together and see why, as we have big games coming up and we want to get back to our normal level of performance.”
Theo Walcott was the stand-out performer against Newcastle with a hat-trick but his supply line was blocked here and his chances were limited.
He lacked the potency he has displayed in recent weeks as Arsenal mustered just one miserly shot on target.
But Wenger refused to blame the 23-year-old, who was making his first return to St Mary’s since his £12million move in 2006.
The Emirates boss added: “Theo didn’t get enough service. We didn’t find good enough positions to express something different offensively.”
Wenger further explained: “Overall, nobody was put in good positions to express something offensively.
“We didn’t have enough quality to get them out of position, but it is difficult to identify any specific thing. We have to analyse that together and see why because we have big games coming up and we want to get back to our normal performance. ”
Wenger also ruled out re-signing Henry for a second time after bringing him back on a temporary deal a year ago.
“He is going away somewhere,” he said.
“He is not ready and for the moment we are not on that case.”
But he confirmed that he hopes to be active during the transfer window. “I will be active, yes,” he said.
“We are looking everywhere and we are open-minded. We want to strengthen the squad if possible and if we find the right players.”
Gunners keeper Wojciech Szczesny admitted his side were fortunate to sneak back to the capital with a point.
The Polish stopper said: “We are disappointed as we feel we should be getting three points from games like this.
“On the other hand you have to give credit to Southampton. They defended very well and created some chances at the other end as well.
“They were terrific and probably deserved a draw. I’m disappointed because we haven’t kept a clean sheet in three games now and I enjoy my clean sheets. We felt we got away with it a bit as we played with the handbrake on in the first half and just managed to score before half-time.”
Saints boss Nigel Adkins was delighted his side earned a point after they were hammered 6-1 by the Gunners in September. The point also lifted them out of the bottom three on goal difference.
Adkins said: “Arsenal have been beating teams out of sight recently. They scored a goal thanks to a deflection but apart from that our keeper did not have much else to do.
“We had a good defensive shape. The whole team were bang on to restrict Arsenal to limited opportunities and when we got the ball we had some chances ourselves.
“The performance demonstrates that everyone is working very hard and fighting for each other. That is now just two defeats in 10 games.
“It shows how far we have come because we got a good hiding down at the Emirates at the start of the campaign.”
Meanwhile, Theo Walcott looks closer to signing a new contract as the striker’s representatives met with Arsenal yesterday in the latest of a series of meetings.
With his contract expiring at the end of the season, speculation has surrounded Walcott’s next move after he failed to sign an extension.
Arsenal’s top goalscorer this season, Walcott scored a hat-trick in the 7-3 win over Newcastle last Saturday to bring his total to 14 in all competitions this term. Walcott said after that game: “I’m sure that something will be sorted very soon. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger made his feelings towards the striker’s future clear, saying: “My desire is to extend his contract. He belongs here and hopefully we can do it.”
And Arsenal have stepped up their interest in Atletico Madrid striker Adrian Lopez. — AFP-The Sun.
Online Reporter