Arsene Wenger says Arsenal season rests on reaction to defeat

Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal's season hinges on their reaction to the 4-3 loss at Blackburn on Saturday which left them 17th in the Premier League.

Under-pressure Wenger cited a lack of "concentration, communication, co-ordination and individual urgency" as the reason for defeat at Ewood Park.

He said: "Our season depends on how well we respond to this disappointment and how quickly we cut out mistakes.

"When you score an own goal, you have to look at yourself."

The mistakes made at Ewood Park to concede the goals - two of which were own goals from Alex Song and Laurent Koscielny - were inexcusable, according to Wenger.

"We gave away [needless] goals," he said.

Arsenal's next five Premier League fixtures

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• 24 Sept - Bolton (h)
• 2 Oct - Tottenham (a)
• 16 Oct - Sunderland (h)
• 23 Oct - Stoke (h)
• 29 Oct - Chelsea (a)

"We feel that we have given this game away, not that we have lost the game. There is nothing worse in our job than having that feeling.

"[But] I personally want to focus on the positives because there is huge potential in this team. We had 22 shots on goal, 61% of the possession."

The Gunners take on League Two side Shrewsbury in the third round of the Carling Cup on Tuesday, when a young side is likely to feature.

Arsenal captain Robin van Persie echoed his manager's frustration and called on the team to cut out mistakes that have blighted their start to the season.

"It is happening too often," Van Persie told the Arsenal website. "Every time we start positively we keep making the same mistakes. And that is surprising."

But the striker insisted there is still time to turn their fortunes around.

"We have to get back-to-back wins, and we just cannot do that at the moment," said Van Persie. "That is our aim for the next couple of games, we have to win them after each other."

With Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri leaving during the summer transfer window, Wenger had little time to replace them - though he did bring in Mikel Arteta from Everton, Andre Santos from Fenerbahce and Werder Bremen's Per Mertesacker shortly before the deadline.

Former Gunners manager George Graham, who led his Arsenal side to two league titles, told BBC Radio 5 live: "They left it late to bring in these players so he's not had time to work with the players he's brought in.

Wenger says team's confidence has gone following the defeat at Blackburn

"Some of their tactical play is still the best in the league and even against Blackburn, their possession play was fantastic.

"Arsene's been there for 15 years and this is probably going to be the toughest period. In the past he's brought in players who are good players and turned them into world-class players.

"Now the jury is out. Can the players he has brought in recently turn out to be as good as the ones from his past?"