Arsenal crashed out of the FA Cup third round today after a 4-2 mauling at the hands of the Championship outfit.

Wenger is currently serving a three-match ban for his dressing room confrontation with Mike Dean after the 1-1 draw away to West Brom on New Year’s Eve.

The Frenchman made nine changes to the side that drew 2-2 at home to Chelsea in midweek - a gamble which ultimately didn’t pay off.

But he refuses to blame himself or the player, and didn’t think his side paid the price for him not patrolling the sidelines.

“No, I wouldn’t say that,” Wenger said. 

“I just think that we were not good enough anywhere, not at the front and not in the middle or at the back. 

“We paid for it and they looked sharper, had more chances and that’s all I can say.

“Nottingham Forest had an outstanding performance today. 

“We couldn’t fault any individual performance from Forest today.”

Elsewhere, Tottenham thrashed Wimbledon 3-0 to book their place in the fourth round.