Arsene Wenger refuses to admit his Arsenal players gave up in pitiful defeat by Crystal Palace

Wenger maintained he 'would not say' that his side had given up

Wenger slumped to another defeat as Arsenal's disappointing run of results continue (Getty)

Arsene Wenger refused to admit that his players downed their tools in the pitiful defeat to Crystal Palace.

Arsenal were abject in going down 3-0 to the relegation battlers, with forward Theo Walcott even admitting that "you could see" his side lacked the hunger to win.

But Wenger maintained he "would not say" that his side had given up.

“Maybe it's the fact that we've lost a few away games. It's really strange... we were unbeaten for a long time away from home, and now we cannot win away from home. It had an impact on us after the second goal.”

The visiting fans who had made the journey across the Thames to south London spent much of the second half voicing their disquiet at the team's performance, culminating in a supporter refusing to give the ball to Hector Bellerin for an Arsenal throw-in, players being told they "weren't fit to wear the shirt" and sustained calls for Wenger to leave.

But the Frenchman, who remains unmoved by the divided fanbase and the ongoing mystery regarding his future, called on supporters to get behind the players.

“No, I want the fans to support the team. I think they are extremely disappointed and I can understand that, like we all are. It is understandable that they are disappointed.

"We played with a desire to win the game tonight with an offensive team. We knew what would face us. Their goalkeeper took the free-kicks from half-way, so it was up to us to combat that and win the game. But they were sharper than us.”