Billy Barr was disappointed his Rovers Under-23s proved him right in their defeat to Arsenal.

Barr saw his side fall behind just before half-time, when in the dressing room he feared they had given up the fight.

That was despite them looking to extend their unbeaten start to the season to six games, while victories could have seen them move to the top of the table.

By the midway point of the second half Arsenal had scored four unanswered goals, adding a fifth in injury time to run out 6-0 winners.

Rovers had started the brighter, but the game unravelled in the second half as they were blown away by the Gunners.

“We were okay for a period, but when you have a game-plan, where players go on the pitch and choose to do what they want, and let the opposition off, there’s your first problem,” Barr said.

“When you get it right but you don’t have people in the box who want to score goals, there’s your second problem.

“I questioned them at half time and I said that I felt we’d given it, that we’d lost the fight.

“I didn’t want to be proved right, I wanted to be proved wrong.

“But ultimately, what we’d seen at the end of the first half happened too often in the second half.

“We were outplayed, outrun, outfought and outclassed.”

Nikolaj Muller scored in additional time at the end of the both halves, while inbetween Emile Smith-Rowe also grabbed himself a brace, with a fine Catarin Cirjin strike, and Dan Pike own goal, seeing the hosts hit for six.

Rovers were their own biggest enemies at time, gifting possession to the visitors in their own half, and Barr says that was all down to their decision-making.

The second half had a similar feel to the FA Youth Cup semi-final of seven days earlier, when Rovers conceded four goals in the second half, including three in the final 12 minutes, as Manchester City progressed to the final.

And Barr added: “This is their learning and we mentioned before the game and on the back of the FA Youth Cup game last week, if it’s not going your way and you’re 1-0 down or 2-0 down, and you’re getting caught, you can’t keep doing it because it’s not working.

“If I make the decision for them then it’s easy. I want leaders out there that are prepared to influence everybody, and I didn’t see that.

“At 2-0 down, at 3-0 down, we’re still making bad mistakes and continued to play into Arsenal’s hands.

“I thought Arsenal were fantastic and showed what they were.

“For our lads, like I say, I really didn’t want to be proved right.

“It’s disappointing because we’ve done ever so well to start the season like we have done.”

The most disappointing aspect of the night was a thigh injury sustained by striker Jack Vale.

The 19-year-old was making his first outing since making his first-team debut against Reading in July, having picked up an injury on the eve of the first pre-season friendly at Fleetwood Town.

He twice went down and received treatment before being replaced inside the opening quarter.

There was more injury concern for Rovers who, already stretched for numbers as Stewart Downing was included in the squad, lost Ben Paton to injury in first-half stoppage time.

Rovers head into the international break in fifth spot, next in action when they travel to Brighton on Monday, November 23 (2pm).