Arsene Wenger: Arsenal’s thrashing at Liverpool was ‘an accident’

Arsene Wenger has described Arsenal’s 5-1 demolition at Liverpool as an “accident” and has called for a response from his players against Manchester United.

The Merseysiders made a mockery of the Gunners’ status as Premier League leaders as they blew Wenger’s men away with a stunning first-half display at Anfield.

It’s an accident, not a welcome [one] of course, a very disappointing one

Arsene Wenger

The defeat saw Arsenal drop into second place in the table and a point behind new leaders Chelsea.

But Wenger has asked Gunners supporters not to read to much into the significance of the heavy defeat ahead of United’s trip to Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.

“It’s always a disappointment to lose a game,” Wenger said. “But I think it was an accident because we have been very stable defensively and we have to treat it like that.

“We’ve just come back from a 10-game unbeaten run. You cannot consider one game as the trend or the pattern of our season.

“It’s an accident, not a welcome [one] of course, a very disappointing one but a successful season is decided by how you respond to that.

“We tend always to forget how good we are when we are not successful. It’s important that we remind them [the team] we have done very well until now and we have worked very hard to be in that position.

“I love this group of players. They deserve success and I think they will respond in a very positive way.”