Arsenal 2 Southampton 1: Puel 'angry' for his players

Arsenal’s contentious injury-time penalty, after Jose Fonte tangled with Olivier Giroud, meant Saints left north London with nothing to show for an excellent performance.

Puel said: “I’m angry for my players but I don’t like to speak of the decision, I want to stay with all the positives of this game.

“We played 30 minutes fantastic with good possibilities and we score. Perhaps at the end of half we move back a little more but my players have been brave to control and to defend.

“We have been in the best situations to score and win this game. It was a very good game for us against a good team so it is a disappointment for the players to lose.

“We have frustration but we also showed really good things. There was a lot of good work from my players but without the result.

“We had good ideas for most of the game, we played good first half.

"We showed good spirit, good attitude and we were strong in defence and played well on the counter attack in the second half.

"We deserved a draw. It’s a big frustration but sometimes in a moment of the game you can lose.”

Asked whether Laurent Koscielny’s spectacular equaliser should have been disallowed for dangerous play, Puel added: “Perhaps but for me the first goal was not the problem, we could have defended better from the free-kick. “

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says he did not see the replays of the events leading to the penalty, which was given with Laurent Koscielny prostrate as he nursed head injury shortly after Shane Long had been fouled at the other end.

“I haven’t seen it but they tell me in the dressing room it was a penalty,” he said. “I’ll watch it again but it’s difficult for me to give an opinion.”

Arsenal's first home win of the season followed a 4-3 defeat against Liverpool on the opening day.

“It was a good response to going behind, we dominated the second half and had many dangerous situations,” he added.

“We were a bit under threat from Southampton’s counter attack. It’s a relief [to win] as we cannot afford to drop points. Not winning two home games would have created an anxiety we don’t want.”