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Arsene Wenger tells referee 'it is always the same with you' but admits Arsenal finishing was 'poor'

Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster was able to make a string of saves at the Emirates to keep the match goalless

Jack Pitt-Brooke

Emirates Stadium

Wednesday 03 February 2016 00:09 GMT

Arsene Wenger (GETTY IMAGES)

Arsene Wenger said that he was “maximally frustrated” with Arsenal’s “very bad finishing” as they drew yet another blank and slipped five points behind Premier League leaders Leicester City.

Wenger also clashed with the officials and even with Southampton manager Ronald Koeman in the second half, a revival of their bad blood when the teams last met at St Mary’s on Boxing Day.

Wenger told Lee Mason “it is always the same with you” after disagreeing with a string of decisions. Koeman then used the same words directed at Wenger himself.

Arsenal have now not scored in their last three league games and Wenger was scathing in his criticisms after seeing Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, and Theo Walcott all miss multiple chances at the Emirates. “Our finishing is very bad at the moment, we have played now three games without scoring a goal,” Wenger said afterwards. “In the three games we have had chances that we haven’t taken. At this level it is important.”

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

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1/12Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Cech: 6 out of 10

Will doubtless be overshadowed by excellence from Fraser Forster but as per usual Cech never put a foot wrong and was always live to Southampton’s attempts to get in behind his defenders.

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Bellerin: 5 out of 10

A rare loose display from the full-back, who was one of several to give the ball away far too often. His crossing was as good as ever but too often Long and Mane were able to exploit the space he left.

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Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Gabriel: 5 out of 10

There were good reasons for dropping Per Mertesacker, who is looking more cumbersome by the week, but this was not a match where Gabriel fully convinced in his stead. Was very lucky to not give away a penalty in the second half when only Mane’s refusal to go down saved him.

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Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Koscielny: 6 out of 10

A key figure in a misfiring second half, on more than one occasion sweeping in behind to stop the dangerous Long and Mane sweeping in behind. However how he missed an unmarked header from six yards out only he will know.

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Monreal: 6 out of 10

In the mistake-filled morass of the first half Monreal stood out by rarely putting a foot wrong. He sat much deeper than he has in past games but it was notable that Southampton had little joy down the right.

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Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Flamini: 5 out of 10

Simply lacks the legs to cut it alongside Ramsey in the middle of the park. He was unable to cover the ground required as his colleague pressed forward, allowing Southampton to pick the Gunners apart on the counter. Increasingly, and justifiably, lost his rag with Ramsey as he failed to track back with any urgency.

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Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Ramsey: 4 out of 10

Santi Cazorla dictates play for Arsenal in the deep-lying playmaking role, and so did Ramsey. Hence with so many passes flying wide of the mark and straight into touch the Gunners’ first-half was utterly atrocious. The second half saw him more often than not alongside Giroud but he had even less impact there.

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Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Campbell: 5 out of 10

Once more the work-rate was present and correct but the quality was lacking. First the ambitious passes stopped paying off, then the basic ones. He would track back and look to recover his mistakes but more often than not that would lead to a free-kick.

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

(Sub) Walcott: 5 out of 10

Barring a double chance spurned seconds after coming on Walcott offered little to Arsenal’s attempts to break Southampton down and was once more notable by his absence.

2016 The Arsenal Football Club Plc

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Ozil: 5 out of 10

Muscularly dealt with by Victor Wanyama and Oriol Romeu, but his influence grew as the match wore on. He may not have been able to take the first-chance opportunities but that was more down to the luck and excellence of Forster than anything else.

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Sanchez: 7 out of 10

About the only Arsenal player in the opening period who looked like crafting a chance or even correctly placing a pass, as in his beautiful delivery to Ozil. But his own superiority was soon to be his downfall as he hubristically took the burden of the whole team’s output on his shoulders.

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Giroud: 5 out of 10

Is it fair to criticise him for constantly dropping deep into midfield in a bid to create something. Probably not, such was the dominance of Virgil van Dijk and Jose Fonte in the air. A frustrating night was defined in opposition to the excellence of Forster, who on several occasions kept out several efforts that seemed destined for goal.

Wenger was direct in his criticism of the Arsenal players who had failed to win again, for the fourth league game in a row. Wenger drew the stark contrast between his side’s good build-up play and their profligate finishing.

“You rate the quality of the chances you create, and the quality of the finishing,” Wenger said. “The quality of the chances we created today, considering it was a Premier League game, was high. The quality of the finishing was poor. That differential explains the 0-0. It is maximally frustrating.”

“We started slowly, a bit nervous, because we lost our last game at home. But in the second half it was one-way traffic and we still couldn’t score. We didn’t make enough of our set-pieces, we didn’t take them well. We didn’t finish well. Our finishing was very poor.”

Arsenal take on Bournemouth at Dean Court on Sunday.

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