Wenger rues Cottagers defeat

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger stopped short of conceding the Barclays Premiership title was over for his side following their 2-1 defeat at Fulham.

The Gunners trail leaders Manchester United by 16 points following the hot-tempered London derby at Craven Cottage, which saw Philippe Senderos dismissed for two bookings.

"I will leave the mathematics of the title to you," said Wenger, who reportedly slipped over during his post-match media duties. "We will now go away and focus on the next game."

The defensive lapses that surfaced in their previous two away games - defeats by West Ham and Bolton - were apparent when Brian McBride headed in after six minutes.

Tomasz Radzinski doubled the lead, injuring himself in the process by crashing into the advertising hoardings, and the hosts held on despite a 30-yard free kick from Robin van Persie.

Wenger added: "We never expected defeat. It was played at a high pace but we gave it everything and created chances. So I'm not disappointed with the way we played.

"It was our third away defeat in a row, and as against West Ham and Bolton we could have had the points. At the moment it doesn't go for us."

Wenger rested a number of first-choice players but was made to rue the decision, with Alexander Song taken off at half-time.

Thierry Henry had an effort disallowed for offside in the second half, and Wenger felt aggrieved after another decision went against his team.

"It was decisive, and I must say the coincidences of the decisions against us at the moment are very peculiar," the Frenchman said. "We can put it together with the penalty at West Ham. But we have to play with it. We cannot influence the referee."