Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger defended the performances of Andrey Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh in defeat at Manchester City.

Wenger tried both players in the second-half of the 1-0 reverse.

"You can only try and they tried," said Wenger.

"They had chances, I think Arshavin had two good chances, Chamakh had very little time to have an impact on the game. We played at the end with four strikers, Ramsey and Arteta in midfield, so you know that when you lose the ball you could be in trouble every time. But we still had the chances to score. Even Vermaelen, at the end, I thought the ball was in when he hit it twice, the free kick first and then the one he hit outside the box."