Wenger fumes

ANGRY: Wenger (left) gestures at his team as Arsenal fall to Wigan

LONDON: Gunners boss Arsene Wenger blasted his side’s “horrendous” defending and Wigan’s time-wasting as the Latics pulled off one of the shocks of the season — and then delivered a massive sting in the tail for England.

Which is that Jack Wilshere has been ruled out of Euro 2012.

As Wigan surged five points clear of the drop zone, Wenger’s misery was compounded when midfielder Mikel Arteta limped off after just five minutes with an ankle injury — and he could be out for the rest of the season.

Wenger said: “It looks quite a serious one — it wasn’t just a little ankle sprain. “We defended horrendously for the first and second goal. Everybody involved was included for the first and the second goal.

“On top of that we conceded a second goal with 10 men on the pitch. It took us too much time to change and it was absolutely unbelievable.

“After that we had a mountain to climb. I felt in the first half we had enough chances to come back to 2-2, but the second half we dropped our level, we lost our team play, our cohesion and tried too much individually. There was not enough petrol left in the tank anymore.

“We didn’t see anyone who could make a difference.”

Wenger added: “Chelsea is a massive and vital game for us. We need to recover from the massive disappointment of tonight first, then prepare mentally for the next one.”

The Arsenal manager also blasted Wigan’s gamesmanship after he let rip at fourth official Kevin Friend and Gunners skipper Robin van Persie refused to shake hands with opposite number Gary Caldwell in a fractious climax.

Wenger, who stormed off down the tunnel at the final whistle, scowled: “It is disrespectful to people who pay good money to watch the game.

“I congratulate Wigan — they did well, and I can understand that they do it, but it’s up to the referee not to let them get away with it.”