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Former Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard has insisted that Arsenal get continually punished for failing to address their defensive frailties.

The Gunners have endured a tough season, with the pressure seemingly mounting on Arsene Wenger as his side sit in sixth in the Premier League, 12 points off Liverpool in fourth. 

Along with their FA Cup third round exit to Nottingham Forest and lacklustre display against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final defeat, a volatile atmosphere has been created around the club, with Lampard commenting on the club's deep-seated problems. 

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Speaking to BT Sport (via the Daily Star), he said: "I think it’s a mentality issue. They haven’t recruited to get top-end defenders.

"I do think that sometimes a bad performance doesn’t get addressed and they have another bad performance. I think that lately they just haven’t been good enough."

Wenger failed to buy a defender in January, instead electing to sign the attacking duo of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

(You may also be interested in Arsene Wenger Insists Arsenal Are 'More Than a Cup Team' as They Move Closer to Yet Another Final)

Despite the recent doom and gloom that is surrounding the Emirates Stadium, the club are on a current run of three straight wins in all competitions, after their 3-1 win against AC Milan on Thursday sealed a 5-1 aggregate win in their Europa League last 16 tie.

Arsenal are now drawn to face CSKA Moscow in the last eight, with the incentive of a 

Champions League place for next season should they win the Europa League a prize that could salvage Wenger and Arsenal's season.