Arsene Wenger: Arsenal were UNLUCKY not to take anything away from Stoke

ARSENE WENGER believes Arsenal were 'unlucky' against Stoke because they showed a tremendous amount of spirt, even though he admitted his side let themselves down defensively.

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Arsene Wenger (left) shows his frustration as Arsenal concede against Stoke

The Gunners slipped to a 3-2 defeat at the Britannia Stadium which has proved to be a bogey ground for them in recent seasons.

Though Arsenal missed several key players including Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott and Wojciech Szczesny, Wenger bemoaned the nature of the goals that his side conceded.

"There's a lot of regret, we had given a lot," Wenger told BBC Sport.

"We showed great energy levels and a a great response. 

Arsene Wenger manager profile

We did climb, but we were a bit unlucky I must say

Arsene Wenger

"The spirit of the team was fantastic. Defensively we missed the start of game. We gave easy goals away. We were not decisive in challenges. 

"Once we were 3-0 down, we had a mountain to climb. We did climb, but we were a bit unlucky I must say.

"What goes through the mind at half-time? Everybody is down so you have to pump the team up and make decisions to change what can be changed. 

"It's frustrating to see them lose. There were a lot of positives - defensively we were not strong enough."

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