Thomas Vermaelen rues lack of cutting edge in Arsenal's Champions League defeat to Schalke

Thomas Vermaelen believes Arsenal did not offer enough in the final third as they were beaten 2-0 at home by Schalke in the UEFA Champions League.

The Gunners suffered their first group stage defeat at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, with second-half goals from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Ibrahim Afellay putting them to the sword.

Schalke were able to dominate throughout the European encounter, much to the surprise of those who have grown accustomed to seeing Arsenal dictate in front of their own supporters.

Arsene Wenger's men have now suffered back-to-back defeats without finding the target - following on from a 1-0 Premier League setback against Norwich - and Vermaelen admits they need to find a cutting edge.

"We are really disappointed," the Arsenal skipper told Sky Sports.

"We lost on Saturday and wanted to be better today but it was the same story. We didn't create enough chances to score goals. They got one and then got more."

Asked why Arsenal were unable to right the wrongs of the weekend, the Belgium international added: "It's difficult to explain, we wanted to put it right.

"We gave 100 per cent but it's difficult at the moment because we're not creating enough chances to score goals.

"Teams come here with strong organisation, technical ability and sometimes it is difficult to get through."