Arsene Wenger was at a loss to explain why his Arsenal players struggled so badly in their 3-1 defeat away to Stoke City on Sunday.

Seemingly out of English Premier League title contention after another inconsistent season, Arsenal restored some pride with a 1-0 win at home to league leaders Manchester United last Sunday.

That victory provided the team renewed hope of claiming second place ahead of London rivals Chelsea.

But yet another below-par display at the Britannia Stadium - their seventh defeat of the league campaign - left Wenger with some serious questions to answer in the close season.

"Something has gone - you can see that today," Wenger said. "It was a disappointing performance."

"The competitive level for Stoke was higher than ours and overall I think we lost the game because they defended much better than we did, with much more purpose."

"On that front, we were not at the right level, certainly not in the first half."

"It is always difficult to say why, but it is a fact."

"You are never happy when you are not competitive enough. Basically, there is not a lot to say."

"Congratulations to them. We made too many mistakes to win a game like that. They defended well and it was always difficult for us."

http://www.nigeriansportsforum.com/index.php/topic,277.0.html