Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits his side 'lacked experience and quality' vs Chelsea but insists Marcos Alonso goal was '100 percent' a foul

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Arsene Wenger claimed Chelsea's opening goal was a clear foul after his Arsenal side were beaten 3-1 at Stamford Bridge by the Premier League leaders.

Marcos Alonso opened the scoring when he climbed above Hector Bellerin to head home a rebound, but the Arsenal defender soon left the pitch injured after being caught by an elbow in the incident.

'The first goal was 100 percent a foul,' Wenger said.

Marcos Alonso beat Bellerin to the ball in the air to give Chelsea the lead after 13 minutes

Alonso left Bellerin on the floor after hitting the Spaniard in the face with his elbow

Arsenal were forced to substitute Bellerin, who is believed to have suffered concussion

Eden Hazard doubled the lead with a wonderful solo goal early in the second half before former Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas finished them off with five minutes to go, lobbing home after a mistake from ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Olivier Giroud scored a consolation goal in stoppage time.

'The second goal was a little bit of a killer for us,' Wenger added on Sky Sports 1. 'It made it much more difficult for us. We had the right attitude but lacked a little bit of experience and quality. Even our experienced players did not play their best today.'

Arsene Wenger said Alonso '100 percent' fouled Bellerin before giving Chelsea the lead

But Thierry Henry disagrees with his former manager, saying Alonso's challenge was fair

But Thierry Henry disagreed with the man he still calls 'the boss' saying that while Alonso's challenge looked 'bad' it was legitimate and Martin Atkinson was right to give it.

Henry: ‘If you’re a neutral, he attacks the ball like you should. It looks bad, but it’s a fair challenge, the momentum carrier him. 

'He focuses on the first goal, but is that why you lost the game? During the season, things come and go. The way they played today, we knew they would be exposed on the counter-attack if they didn’t identify the threat early.’