Arsene Wenger insists disallowed goal wasn't offside as he's left to lament referee's decision-making

Arsène Wenger blamed 'stupid mistakes' after his Arsenal side fell to their first defeat of the new Premier League season at Stoke City.

A goal from debutant Jesé Rodriguez, lively for the hosts from the off, proved decisive as Mark Hughes picked up his third win in three years over Wenger.

Jesé picked up the ball after Granit Xhaka's ceded possession with a sloppy pass and, following a neat one-two with Saido Berahino, the Paris Saint-Germain loanee beat Petr Cech with a tidy finish.

“It was a very frustrating evening. Not only did we not score the chances we had, but we made stupid mistakes centrally,” Wenger admitted.

“We know in this kind of game it's important not to make a mistake but straight after half-time we were too sluggish on defending and we paid for it. First by losing the ball and then we didn't defend properly.”

Wenger nevertheless felt his side deserved a point and was aggrieved that new signing Alexandre Lacazette saw a goal ruled out for offside.

Television replays appeared to show that Lacazette’s foot strayed fractionally beyond Stoke's last defender, but Wenger was adamant the goal should have stood.

“I believe we scored a very regular goal that was given offside but was not offside," he said. “It is not offside, it is a very easy decision.

“It was a very frustrating evening because we had plenty of chances to score but we did not score. And on top of that we knew it was important not to make a defensive mistake, and then at the start of the second half we were sluggish and we paid a price.”