John Hartson: 'Arsenal have got to stop conceding goals"

Former Arsenal striker John Hartson has slammed the club's defensive frailties this season by claiming that some of the goals they have been conceding would not be seen "on a Sunday league pitch".

The criticism comes a day after Arsenal's 3-2 defeat away at Stoke City in the Premier League, in which the Potters went ahead within 20 seconds of kickoff and established a three-goal lead by the break.

Hartson told BBC Sport: "Some of the goals that Arsenal conceded you wouldn't see on a Sunday League pitch.

"Arsenal have got to stop conceding goals. Some of the goals they conceded yesterday was schoolboy stuff. They are not defensively strong enough.

"When you go away to a team like Stoke you have to say to yourselves 'They are going to come at us in the first 20 minutes. We know what's going to happen and we've got to be strong enough to withstand it'. Arsenal have to start from the back and stop conceding goals."

Arsenal are sixth in the Premier League, 13 points adrift of top spot, following a fifth defeat in eight visits to the Britannia Stadium.