Arsene Wenger kept his players locked in the Arsenal dressing room for a post-match showdown after the 2-1 defeat to Man Utd on Saturday.

We’re told the manager and players engaged in intense discussions about how the Gunners slumped to yet another defeat against the former Champions, and with just 8 points from the last 21 available the overall form of the side was another issue on the agenda.

And afterwards, the Arsenal manager admitted he was angry at the result because he felt his team ‘deserved’ more.

“I wasn’t angry with the players – I have a lot of respect for the energy they put in the game and the spirit they show,” he said.

“I’m just angry because the players do not get rewarded and our fans do not get rewarded for the result that was just there for the taking today. We have suffered against United before but we cannot say that we suffered against them today.

“If you look at the number of games recently, the number of shots our opponent has and the number of goals we concede, that is quite a continuity at the moment.”

We assume by ‘continuity’ he means ‘problem’. The manager’s frustration was echoed by skipper Mikel Arteta who felt Arsenal’s performance was worthy of more.

“I think we played our best game of the season, in terms of what we demand from ourselves with the quality of our attack, how early we won the ball back, how consistent we were throughout the game, the number of chances we created, and all that considering the opposition we were playing against.

“I can’t believe it and think it is a shame, not fair for the players and the fans. It is very frustrating. We need to analyse why those things are happening and also we need to be sure that a lot of the things we are doing are right.

“We can’t now completely change our game because we haven’t won. As the manager said a few weeks ago, we are doing 99 per cent of the things right and every time that we make a little mistake it seems to cost us a point or a defeat. It’s always something so we need to bounce back.

“We have another massive game against Dortmund on Wednesday – let’s go for it.”