Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger accused his players of 'choking' after watching Sunderland shatter end their unbeaten record on Saturday.

The Gunners lost their 13-game unbeaten record after Darren Bent's goal earned Sunderland another impressive scalp at the Stadium of Light.

Wenger was unhappy with his side's attacking play as they failed to score for the first time this season with Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner missing.

"Going forward we lacked sharpness, we lacked the desire to go behind defenders. We've chosen the easy part of the game and not exposed them with our pace in behind," said Wenger

"If you want to score goals you have to go behind the defenders. We choked a little bit and chose the easy part of the game.

"Mentally it's a blow. It's a big disappointment because we know it was a very important game that we couldn't afford to lose and we perhaps under estimated how difficult it would be for us here.

"Give Sunderland credit, they defended with a lot of heart and great desire and they fought for every ball. They played it like it was a cup tie.

"We had more of the ball so they tried to stop us from playing. Sometimes they were on the fringe of the rules but that's part of the game."

Wenger has called on his side to bounce back against Standard Liege in the Champions League before they take on league leaders Chelsea next Sunday.

"It's important to win the next game - that is in the Champions League - and to forget about Chelsea," added Wenger.