Arsenal defender Koscielny says players doubted Wenger after Old Trafford trouncing

London, May 11(ANI): Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has said players in the dressing room were so distressed during the start of the season that they even doubted manager Arsene Wenger at one point, especially after their 8-2 humiliation at Old Trafford at the hands of Manchester United.

Wenger and chief executive Ivan Gazidis came under fire for going into a panic-buying spree of five players in the last four days of the transfer window.

But till mid-September Arsenal were still at 17th place but they have made an extraordinary turnaround, and will finish third if they win at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.

"The start of the season was catastrophic. We lost key players from our system. There was late recruitment of new players and the mayonnaise needed time to take," The Sun quoted Koscielny, as saying during an interview.

"There was the thrashing at Old Trafford. The whole world buried us. But you don't lose your football like that," he added.

"It can happen that a small grain of sand jams the engine and after that you start to doubt your own qualities, the club, the coach and everything else. We needed to sort that out. Everyone got down to doing just that, the coach, the club," he said. (ANI)