Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor has told his team-mates they will never be Premier League champions without developing a winning mentality that was lacking against Tottenham this week.
Adebayor struggled to find reasons why Arsenal's bitter rivals were able to salvage a draw at the Emirates Stadium after heading into the final two minutes 4-2 down.
"To be champions in this way? You can never be a champion. That is for sure," Adebayor said.
The 24-year-old Togo striker suggested that Arsenal thought the match was won heading into the final minutes of the game, echoing the naivety that boss Arsene Wenger has highlighted.
They also looked in control against Hull earlier in the campaign and ended up losing, while last season their title challenge fell apart after Birmingham earned a late draw at St Andrews.
Even though they earned a point, Spurs players celebrated like they had won after Aaron Lennon's leveller at the death.
"There is a lot of disappointment," Adebayor added on Arsenal TV Online. "We are down at the moment because we did everything to get the three points and we ended up with one.
"We feel very sorry for ourselves that the things are not going the right way. It was one of the most difficult games in my life because I cannot understand that after 90 minutes we were leading 4-2 - I don't know how we finished with a draw.
"It's very easy to give up because we were 4-2 up and maybe thinking the game was finished. With five, six or seven minutes to go, maybe in our head the game was over."
Wenger was furious after the game and the players wanted to wait before starting the inquest into what went wrong.
"It's better to wait," Adebayor said. "There would be a lot of words that we don't have to use and we aren't supposed to use to each other.
"Then we will get together and tell the truth. The nerves will calm down and everyone will have to accept their critics."
Arsenal are six points behind leaders Liverpool, with a trip to Stoke next on Saturday.
"We don't have the right to drop points any more," Adebayor said. "At the end of the day we always drop the points and not against the top four - against Tottenham who are bottom of the league.
"I'm tired of saying that we don't want to drop points any more. We have to keep going."
Wenger faces a problem at the heart of his defence after suggesting Kolo Toure and William Gallas - his two best centre-backs - are struggling to maintain a partnership.
Gallas and Mikael Silvestre started against Spurs and both scored.
"You know how much I rate Kolo Toure but at the back it is about partnerships, it's about positioning and it's about current form as well," said Wenger.
(reopens)
Wenger is expected to be without skipper William Gallas and Emmanuel Eboue for the trip to Stoke on Saturday.
Gallas has a hamstring problem while Eboue is struggling with his knee.
"It looks like Gallas will be out and maybe Eboue too," Wenger told Arsenal TV Online. "We'll assess him tomorrow.
"It is a little recurrence of the hamstring for William and for Manu it is his knee. He is not running properly at the moment. He still has pain there."
"To be champions in this way? You can never be a champion. That is for sure," Adebayor said.
The 24-year-old Togo striker suggested that Arsenal thought the match was won heading into the final minutes of the game, echoing the naivety that boss Arsene Wenger has highlighted.
They also looked in control against Hull earlier in the campaign and ended up losing, while last season their title challenge fell apart after Birmingham earned a late draw at St Andrews.
Even though they earned a point, Spurs players celebrated like they had won after Aaron Lennon's leveller at the death.
"There is a lot of disappointment," Adebayor added on Arsenal TV Online. "We are down at the moment because we did everything to get the three points and we ended up with one.
"We feel very sorry for ourselves that the things are not going the right way. It was one of the most difficult games in my life because I cannot understand that after 90 minutes we were leading 4-2 - I don't know how we finished with a draw.
"It's very easy to give up because we were 4-2 up and maybe thinking the game was finished. With five, six or seven minutes to go, maybe in our head the game was over."
Wenger was furious after the game and the players wanted to wait before starting the inquest into what went wrong.
"It's better to wait," Adebayor said. "There would be a lot of words that we don't have to use and we aren't supposed to use to each other.
"Then we will get together and tell the truth. The nerves will calm down and everyone will have to accept their critics."
Arsenal are six points behind leaders Liverpool, with a trip to Stoke next on Saturday.
"We don't have the right to drop points any more," Adebayor said. "At the end of the day we always drop the points and not against the top four - against Tottenham who are bottom of the league.
"I'm tired of saying that we don't want to drop points any more. We have to keep going."
Wenger faces a problem at the heart of his defence after suggesting Kolo Toure and William Gallas - his two best centre-backs - are struggling to maintain a partnership.
Gallas and Mikael Silvestre started against Spurs and both scored.
"You know how much I rate Kolo Toure but at the back it is about partnerships, it's about positioning and it's about current form as well," said Wenger.
(reopens)
Wenger is expected to be without skipper William Gallas and Emmanuel Eboue for the trip to Stoke on Saturday.
Gallas has a hamstring problem while Eboue is struggling with his knee.
"It looks like Gallas will be out and maybe Eboue too," Wenger told Arsenal TV Online. "We'll assess him tomorrow.
"It is a little recurrence of the hamstring for William and for Manu it is his knee. He is not running properly at the moment. He still has pain there."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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