Wenger at a loss to explain slump

Arsene Wneger (2nd L) admits he is struggling to explain Arsenal's recent slump in form that has left the reigning English Premiership champions five points adrift of leaders Chelsea

Arsene Wenger admits he is struggling to explain Arsenal's recent slump in form that has left the reigning English Premiership champions five points adrift of leaders Chelsea.

Having gone a record-breaking 49 league games without experiencing defeat, Wenger's side have now lost twice in their last six outings, the latest reverse coming after Neil Mellor struck a winner deep into added time to secure a deserved 2-1 victory for Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

The Gunners' Champions League form is similarly unimpressive and Wenger accepts his side must improve soon if they are to repeat last season's domestic triumph and finally make an impact in Europe.

Arsenal's efforts to rediscover their winning form will not be helped by the loss of captain Patrick Vieira who will miss the forthcoming fixture with Chelsea on December 12 after receiving a fifth caution of the season to earn a one-match suspension.

With fellow midfielders Edu and Gilberto Silva already out injured, Wenger's options will be severely limited for what could potentially be a pivotal moment in this season's title race.

"At the moment we are very short of players and to lose Patrick at this stage would be a big problem for us," Wenger admitted.

"At the moment I am not thinking too much about whether Chelsea are playing well and picking up points, I am more concerned with getting our own form right. If we don't start winning games again and picking up points then we cannot challenge anybody no matter what they do.

"It's hard to explain why results have not been going our way recently and it is difficult to identify one part of our game that particularly needs to improve.

"If you ask me what is going wrong then the answer is simple, we are losing games. This defeat in particular was difficult to swallow, coming in the dying seconds from a straightforward long ball that should not have caused us any real problems.

"But maybe we are suffering a little from fatigue and maybe our efforts with nine men in the Champions League have left us tired. We gave a lot against PSV Eindhoven and that may have affected us.

"But I still feel there is not a lot wrong with our play and I won't be making any major changes. I cannot put my finger on any individual who is not playing well and I always feel that it is better to bring in new players, especially young players, when we are winning games."

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez admits he faces a difficult task fitting Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and Dietmar Hamann into his midfield but was impressed by the way Gerrard slotted into an advanced attacking role in his first Premiership start for two months.

"I have a big problem finding a place for all of my best midfielders but Steven has played very well in all four positions and I was sure he would do a good job," Benitez said.