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Arsene Wenger thought his Arsenal side had done enough to win on Saturday despite needing a 90th-minute equaliser to draw 2-2 with Hull.
Danny Welbeck grabbed the equaliser in the dying minutes after Mohamed Diame and Abel Hernandez cancelled out Alexis Sanchez’s opener.
Wenger blamed the Gunners’ lack of attention which saw them go behind seconds into the second-half but could not fault the players drive and effort which saw them salvage something from the game when it looked like they would have nothing to show for their efforts.
While the Arsenal manager questioned the referee for the first goal Diame hauled back Mathieu Flamini, which Hull manager Steve Bruce described as “grappling,” there was no question his defenders were at fault for the second.
“It was a very disappointing result,” said the Frenchman. “We were unlucky with the first goal but on the second goal we can only blame ourselves.
“We came out of the dressing room with a lack of focus. I cannot fault the effort or heart we put in the game but the defensive concentration was missing on the second goal.
“I think we did enough to win the game. But this is the kind of game where we cannot afford to concede another goal after coming out at 1-1. We know that, we have enough experience to know that and we cannot give the goal away like we did.”
But with his side now 11 points behind leaders Chelsea, it seems lessons haven’t been learnt over the past few seasons and Hull got their game plan spot on, with Bruce being disappointed to leave London with only a point.
“How can I criticise my boys?” he asked. “They have been terrific. The last six months we have played Arsenal twice and took them on twice.
“They needed extra time to beat us in the FA Cup final and to come here and play, it shows you what strides we have made.
“We are disappointed we can only take a point from Arsenal. I’ve been here before with teams where we have played their reserves and got beat six and five and you go away with your tail in between your legs. So we have done extremely well to get a point.”
The home side started fantastically, with Sanchez opening the scoring after 13 minutes but the lead only lasted four minutes when Diame powered through the middle and executed a delightful dink over the oncoming Wojciech Szczesny.
Seconds into the second-half, Hernandez beat Per Mertesacker to the ball to put the Tigers ahead but Sanchez once again proved the difference after beating three players before sliding in Welbeck whose left-footed shot beat subsitute goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic.