Mikel Arteta described defeat to Bournemouth as a "big punch in the face" as Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes were dealt a significant blow following a desperate 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth at the Emirates.
The Gunners produced a worryingly lethargic display as Bournemouth left north London with all three points to hand Manchester City the chance to reduce the gap at the top to six when they face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
It was a third consecutive domestic defeat for Arteta's side - following their Carabao Cup final loss against City and FA Cup exit to Southampton - and it places major doubt over whether they will secure their first title in 22 years, having finished runner-up for the past three seasons.
"It's extremely disappointing," Arteta said. "It's a big punch in the face, but it's about how we react now.
"Credit to them [Bournemouth] for what they did, they haven't lost in 11 games for a reason. They got a lot of things right. When we had anticipation in the first half, when we regained the ball, we were far from efficient.
"The first opportunity they had to attack the box, it was a deflection, a really bad defensive action and it cost us a goal.
"That's something we have to deal with emotionally. We tried to recover and push them, we scored from the penalty and you expect a different game.
"But we did a lot of strange things today."
'Stand up and go for the fight or you are out'
Arsenal now have to find a response when they face Sporting in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final before a huge Premier League showdown against Man City next Sunday in a fixture now fuelled with even greater significance.
Arteta has called for fight from his players as they bid to keep their title challenge on track.
He added: "We've been very consistent. It can happen, this is football and sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition for the way they capitalised.
"I don't know how many shots they had but they made the most of our actions, and we were far from our level today.
"It hurts the players a lot, and it has to. You have to take it on the chin and there is no grey area now.
"You stand up and go for the fight, or you're out. That's what it's going to require now.
"It's a big week, there's a lot at stake. We're still in a good position in both competitions but we need to do better, that's for certain."