Ian Holloway praised Arsenal's football and admitted that the Seasiders will strive to reach that level following a 6-0 loss at The Emirates.

On a tough afternoon for Pool, Ian Evatt was sent-off midway through the first-half and Theo Walcott hit a hat-trick, resulting in the Seasiders' first loss in the Barclays Premier League.

But, rather than dwell on the result, the manager was quick to credit the Gunners and insisted that they are the standard to reach.

"It's a harsh lesson, isn't it? I thought some of their football was scintillating, if I can use that word," he said. "That's how it should be played, on the grass. It hardly came off the grass.

"There's plenty of evidence for me to work on and plenty more things to do. We've got to pick ourselves up and get back to the training ground. I just think we were a little bit overawed by how quick they were.

"It hurts, my pride is killing me. But what I will say is that there were a lot of things that were wrong with the unit today. I don't expect us to be a unit yet. I haven't had near enough of a chance to work with the lads that I've got in a defensive structure. Last year we weren't that good defensively but we outscored people.

"We've got a long way to go to be anywhere near as good as Arsenal. We've got to get enough points to stay up, that's all that matters. Did I expect to beat these? It would have been nice if we would but not really. Let's get on with it.

"We'll go back to work and see if we can emulate what they're trying to do because it's beautiful to watch," he added.

The Seasiders will now head to MK Dons on Tuesday night in the Carling Cup before entertaining Fulham at Bloomfield Road next Saturday.