Man City 6 Arsenal 3: Arsene Wenger ‘hurt’ by thrashing

Arsene Wenger admitted Arsenal made too many mistakes in midfield as Manchester City hit six past the Gunners to move up to second in the table.

Sergio Aguero gave the hosts an early lead from a corner before Theo Walcott equalised after half an hour.

We know that a big season depends on winning the games and we are very sad about that

Arsene Wenger

But Alvaro Negredo ensured that Manuel Pellegrini’s side went into the break in front and Fernandinho further extended the advantage soon after half-time.

Walcott gave Wenger’s men hope when he curled home just after the hour-mark but David Silva immediately restored the hosts’ two-goal advantage.

Fernandinho then grabbed his second before Per Mertesacker made it 5-3 with a header in stoppage time, and Yaya Toure sealed the victory with a late penalty.

“It was a strange game,” Wenger told BT Sport. “They could have scored more and we could have scored six or more as well.

“You could see that we have given a lot on Sunday and Wednesday night [against Everton and Napoli] and have not completely recovered.

“It hurts to lose like that but we made too many mistakes today in the middle of the park. Overall they deserved the win. We have to go home and recover but we made too many technical mistakes today.”

Wenger continued: “Our schedule was not ideal but is that the only explanation? I’m not sure.

“It was 2-1 at half-time; the 3-1 was a big turning point for me because we looked like really coming back into the game in the second half. After that it was difficult to come back.

“There’s nothing worse in football than being tired and running after the score.

“We want to win and we are very sad tonight because we lost a big game. We know that a big season depends on winning the games and we are very sad about that.”