Arsene Wenger has blasted his Arsenal side for letting a vital three points slip away at West Ham on Sunday and has warned them to cut out the defensive mistakes if they are to mount a title charge this season.

The Gunners, who are 9/2 to win the title in the outright betting market, appeared to be cruising to another Premier League win after goals from Robin van Persie and William Gallas put them in control at Upton Park but the Hammers hit back late on to claim a 2-2 draw.

Carlton Cole’s strike got things moving for the home side before a late Alessandro Diamanti penalty rescued a point for Gianfranco Zola’s side (9/2 to go down), who remain in the bottom three despite the draw.

Afterwards, Wenger was left cursing another poor defensive showing that came hot on the heels of them throwing away a win against Az Alkmaar in the Champions League in midweek.

He said: “It is very frustrating,” he said. “It is, of course, a major missed opportunity. In our job, you do not have this luxury.

“You need to get points when you deserve to get points and sometimes when you don’t deserve to get the points.

“We never got them when we deserved them – and that means we have not made the maximum of what we should have done.”