Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger was left frustrated after Arsenal were held to a fourth successive Premier League draw.

The Gunners needed a late leveller from Kolo Toure to grab a point in a 1-1 stalemate with Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

The result sees Arsenal relinquish top spot in the table to rivals Manchester United, but Wenger is refusing to write off their title hopes just yet.

"We have dropped eight points in the last four games," he said.

"When you are in a race with the opponents we have, that is a big disappointment - but we have to keep our spirit and focus," he said.

"I feel the spirit is there and the players are giving everything, but at the moment it's not working for us."

"But we play Chelsea next, so it's very interesting. We will see at the end of the season what effect today has."

Wenger continued: "I don't know why we weren't creative enough today.

"They defended very well and very deep, and had just one shot on target which they scored so that is frustrating.

"I don't think Chelsea or Manchester played better than us today, but they didn't concede.

"I knew the second half would be our half, so it was important for us not to concede early, but we did."

Wenger also admitted to being perplexed by the explanation given by referee Mark Halsey for disallowing what appeared to be a perfectly good goal by Emmanuel Adebayor in the first-half of the contest.

The striker was adjudged to have strayed offside, but replays clearly showed that the ball had been played through to him by Boro midfielder George Boateng.

"The referee explained that the intention of our player was to play the ball to someone who was offside so the fact that it came off their player didn't matter," Wenger said.

"I didn't know that, so I have learnt something new today."