Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits the on-off sale of Emmanuel Adebayor last summer affected their early season form.

He said: "The Adebayor business: 'I'm going, I'm staying, I'm going, I'm staying' was also an important factor. One thing followed another. Earlier this season, our game wasn't there. Even the people who love Arsenal were saying: 'This is a disaster.'

"You wonder why, with the same players, our game could crumble so much. The staff and I wondered whether we had made mistakes, if the training was being done badly.

"The most worrying match was our 3-0 defeat at Manchester City in November. That was one loss too many. We hit the bottom. But, just after that, we won 2-1 at Chelsea and I thought my team were not ready to totally go under.

"The barometer is confidence and when that seizes up . . . now we are unbeaten for 18 Premier League matches and that leaves with me with a lot of regrets."