Bacary Sagna says Arsenal need to buy in January. Defender Sagna conceded Arsenal are struggling to cope in the absence of striker Robin van Persie, who is out for five months with ankle ligament damage.

Sagna said: "Robin van Persie's absence is weighing heavily on us and we need to find a solution. There was too much of a gap between ourselves and Chelsea.

"They were better in the individual battles and kept the ball and passed it better than we did.

"The game was a mirror image of our 1-0 defeat at Sunderland. We did not really create chances. Chelsea brushed us aside and we are very disappointed.

"But we must not give up, or else we face dropping even further down the table."