Wenger was criticised (Picture: Reuters)

Former Chelsea star Chris Sutton pulled no punches in his assessment of Arsenal’s defence during their 1-1 draw with Southampton and slammed Arsene Wenger for not assembling a stronger backline.

A late Olivier Giroud header cancelled out Charlie Austin’s opener but Gunners’ goalkeeper Petr Cech admitted his side were fortunate not to find themselves 3-0 down after a sloppy start to the contest.

Sutton pointed the finger at Wenger for not acquiring stronger options defensively, despite having a wealth of attacking talent in the form of Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez at his disposal.

And he believes Arsenal are nowhere near winning the Premier League title.

‘Can Arsenal win a title with that backline? We all know the answer,’ he told BT Sport after the match.

‘Absolutely not. It’s as simple as that.

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Sutton slammed Arsenal’s defence (Picture: AFP/Getty)

‘How can Arsene Wenger not see that?’

When asked if their attacking players were good enough to win the league, he replied: ‘Yeah, I think in an attacking sense they’ve got so much talent up top.

‘I like [Alexandre] Lacazette – it didn’t happen for him today. I’m a big fan of Ozil, what he can do on the ball and Sanchez – well, you know, they’re not going to be there at the end of the season by the looks of it, are they?’