Wenger laments Arsenal for slow start in Southampton draw

Matt Stead

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger criticised his side for another sluggish start following a 1-1 draw at Southampton.

The Gunners conceded twice inside the opening 11 minutes against Manchester United last week – and despite dominating thereafter they went down 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium.

Saints only needed three minutes to open the scoring on Sunday, with Charlie Austin taking advantage of some lacklustre defending to burst through on goal and stroke beyond goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Substitute Olivier Giroud rescued a share of the spoils with a cute 88th-minute header but while Wenger was relieved to avoid back-to-back defeats, he admitted a poor opening to a match had cost them once more.

He told BT Sport: “I felt that we played with an excellent spirit but in the last two weeks unfortunately we are losing points after a bad start.

“You could see that last week had an influence on today’s start to the game. The players are wanting to start strong and overall I believe it took us time to get into the game again.

“We are caught straight away and after it’s difficult. We wanted to win but when you cannot win then at least don’t lose it.

“You’re concerned but you don’t want to make too big a problem of it because it takes belief and confidence away from the players.”