A 3-1 defeat at the hands of Bolton Wanderers was not what Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger was looking at when they played their rivals at the Reebok Stadium.

Former Arsenal striker Nicolas Anelka's two-goal blitz inspired Bolton to victory and now leaves the Gunners nine points behind Chelsea and 12 points of Manchester United.

Speaking to PremPlus, Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger said, "We are too far behind.

"If you look at the number of points we have dropped and the way we have played it is really difficult to take.”

"You feel on one hand there is a lot of quality in the side, but on the other hand we cannot transform that into points, so it is very disappointing to be such a long way behind because I feel we have a good chance to play with the top teams."

Wenger paid tribute to Arsenal's character against Bolton, but declared that a lack of experience may have cost his side.

Absence of key players Thierry Henry (neck injury), Robin Van Persie (suspended), Thomas Rosicky and William Gallas recovering from injuries, were very much felt. Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo Walcott did play well up-front but failed to score.

"We almost dominated the entire second half, where the crosspiece came in the way three times, and the third goal I think was offside, which killed the game.

"It is a learning curve for our team at the moment. We do not get enough, considering the quality of our game, because we lack experience in the decisive moments of the game."