Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger branded his players "soft" after defeat at Stoke City.
They saw a run of three straight victories end in a frenetic 3-2 Premier League defeat.
Wenger said: "Stoke started strong and we were not decisive enough in our defensive challenges.
"It gave them an early good present and after that they put a lot of energy into the game. In the second half we had good opportunities to come back and we couldn't.
"I think we were a bit inexperienced at the back - we couldn't play (Laurent) Koscielny or (Nacho) Monreal and we were altogether maybe a bit soft to cope with what they offered us."
