2008-03-25 : Chelsea v Arsenal

Dear Arsenal supporter,

Sunday's defeat at Chelsea was a big setback for us, especially when you add in the four games we drew. The only thing we can do before we dream of the title now is to come back and win our games.

I felt we should have beaten Chelsea but we paid for some lapses in concentration. It is difficult to swallow because we played quite well and were in control of the game but, when Chelsea reverted to long balls, we did not deal well enough with it.

Our spirit was right and our mentality was fantastic. Overall the team played very well but, at the moment, I feel we have some defensive problems which we need to sort out. We got caught on the long balls and the physical battle.

We were a bit unlucky because Chelsea's first goal was offside and there was also a foul from John Terry before that. That had a big impact on the game and recently we have been hard done by with things like that.

It was a missed opportunity because we were 1-0 up and had it all in our hands. We needed a bit more defensive authority as the game was there to be taken. We had plenty of chances on the counter-attack when they went 4-4-2 but we were not serene enough defensively.

I feel the team got a big blow when we went 2-1 down and then we lost a bit of patience in the build-up. We wanted to go too much through the middle instead of going wide.

The players were very disappointed because they gave everything but went home without any points. That is why we have to show our strength. I believe we have the strength, but at the moment we are six points behind Manchester United. We have to win our next game at Bolton to get back on track.

Thanks for your support.