Mikel Arteta felt there were "a lot of positives" to take from a defeat to Manchester City but wants his Arsenal side to be more efficient.
City replaced the Gunners at the top of the Premier League table with a 3-1 win at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
Arsenal, who have a game in hand on the champions, are without a win in four matches in all competitions and need a response when they travel for a reunion with former boss Unai Emery and his Aston Villa side on Saturday.
However, manager Arteta is confident Arsenal can rediscover the sort of form that had at one stage given them an eight-point cushion over City at the summit.
"I know the right things we have to do to continue to be there [at the top]," the Spaniard said.
"We have seen where the level is and what we have to do to be at that level. There are a lot of positive things to take, for sure, from the season so far [and the loss to City].
"We know that the level of efficiency has to be good with every single game to beat them [City] at the end.
"We are highly motivated to do that."
He added of the defeat to Pep Guardiola's men: "You have to give credit to a team when they beat you, but when you analyse the game again, I think we lost it."
Arteta says Arsenal are relishing the opportunity to return to the top of the table when they face Villa.
He said: "It is normal that you want to get maximum points, which we didn't in the last few games. We have to improve because we want to win more games.
"So we are highly motivated for tomorrow's game because we want to perform well and win the game."
Meanwhile, Arteta condemned the behaviour of fans who threw objects at City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who opened the scoring in the blockbuster midweek clash.
"Our fans were extraordinary in the game with their level of support and the way they helped to inspire the team," he said.
"There was an incident at the end that no-one is going to tolerate within this stadium and the club is investigating."
'Please, doubt us' – Dias dares Man City's critics
Ruben Dias has dared Manchester City's critics to "doubt us" after the Premier League champions' four-game losing streak.
Pep Guardiola lost four straight matches in all competitions for the first time in his managerial career as City capitulated in a 2-1 loss to Brighton on Saturday.
That loss came on the back of a 4-1 defeat to Sporting CP – coached by new Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim – in the Champions League, as well as a reverse to Bournemouth in the Premier League and an EFL Cup exit at the hands of Tottenham.
City are five points behind league leaders Liverpool, but Dias shrugged off the doubters.
"I would say, please doubt us, doubt us, feel welcome to do so," the centre-back told reporters.
"When we did the treble, we even called it the dark January. We had a tough period. But it is what it is.
"What matters is how you bounce back from these moments. That's why our team has won so much because in moments of difficulty, the characters come up and we stay together.
"We don't find people to kill, we find people to bring into the cause and fight together.
"That's what we need to do once again. Until it's done, it's not done."
City's losing run combined with Liverpool's excellent form has seen a swing in the Opta supercomputer's predictions.
The model now has Liverpool as the favourites, with a 60.3% chance of winning the title.
Arteta: Saka and Rice injuries do not look good
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta did not have a positive outlook when questioned about Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice's respective injuries following their 1-1 draw at Chelsea on Sunday.
Saka was taken off in the 81st minute, having earlier received treatment on a problem with his leg, while Rice left the pitch 10 minutes earlier having been playing with a broken toe.
While their injuries represent a problem for Arteta, both Saka and Rice were included in the England squad to face Greece and the Republic of Ireland.
It could be a blow for England interim manager Lee Carsley, with Arteta doubtful they will be able to contribute.
"It doesn't look good because for two players of that importance to say they want to come off is unusual," Arteta told reporters after the match. "I don't expect them to be fit [for the international break] because if not, they don't come off."
Saka has already missed two games for Arsenal this season, having picked up an injury during the previous international break. The Gunners have had to deal with numerous injuries to key players, including that of Martin Odegaard, who made his first start for the club since August on Sunday.
"What I'm praying for is that after the international break, we have the team fully physically equipped, that they are available and that they are fit because it's been a nightmare for eight weeks," he added.
"Doubt after doubt, issue after issue, not only with the ones that are not able to play but with the ones who are able to play."
Premier League MD11: Lucky winners and unlucky losers
The final international break of 2024 is here, and we can safely say the Premier League is starting to take shape.
Opta's supercomputer now has Liverpool, who are five points clear at the top following their win over Aston Villa on Saturday, as the favourites to go on and win the title.
Manchester City lost a fourth straight game in all competitions as they went down 2-1 at Brighton, while Chelsea and Arsenal are third and fourth respectively after sharing the points.
When assessing the underlying metrics, it looks like Sunday's draw at Stamford Bridge was a fair result, but that was not the case across the board this weekend.
Here, we pick out the lucky winners and unlucky losers from matchday 11.
Lucky winners: Manchester United
Manchester United are now under new management, with Ruben Amorim officially starting as head coach on Monday. But interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy ensured he went out with a high as the Red Devils beat Leicester City 3-0 on Sunday.
However, it is fair to say United were rather fortunate to net three times at Old Trafford, with the data suggesting they did not even create chances worthy of one goal, never mind three.
United's expected goals (xG) was 0.69, the third-lowest total in the league this weekend and behind Leicester's 0.77.
Bruno Fernandes scored one and set up another on his 250th appearance for the club, either side of Victor Kristiansen's own goal, but from 13 shots, United, who had only 17 touches in Leicester's box, really did not create much in the way of quality opportunities.
Indeed, their attacking quality instead told, with Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho finishing well. At the other end, Leicester failed to make their moments count, despite hitting the target with five of their six shots.
Spare a thought for Erik ten Hag, given when he was in charge, United's attack was underperforming. Now Amorim just needs to pick up where Van Nistelrooy left off...
Unlucky losers: Manchester City
Man City are suddenly the crisis club, having lost four straight games for the first time since August 2006. Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, has lost four games in a row in all competitions for the very first time in his managerial career.
Erling Haaland also lost a Premier League match in which he scored a goal for the very first time, having put City ahead before Joao Pedro and Matt O'Riley clinched the points for Brighton.
Brighton finished with 2.29 xG, so they did deserve to score at least twice. However, City can still consider themselves unfortunate, given their 2.22 xG was the third-highest of any team across the weekend.
Their post-shot expected goals on target (xGoT) also rose to 2.98, showing that Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen was on fine form.
City also created five big chances, missing four of them, and hit the woodwork once. That being said, they conceded eight big chances, with Brighton letting them off for six of those, so it was not a good day at the office for Guardiola.
Unlucky losers: Bournemouth
If Man City were unfortunate, then the team to have created the highest xG (2.61) this past weekend – Bournemouth – can consider themselves hard done by.
Andoni Iraola claimed his team were worthy of the three points against Brentford, despite the Cherries losing 3-2, and the underlying metrics suggest the Spaniard was fair in his assessment.
Only Tottenham (35 in their loss against Ipswich Town) had more touches in the opponent's box than Bournemouth's 34 at the Gtech Community Stadium, but Iraola's side were made to pay for some dismal finishing.
Their xGoT dropped to 1.68, while Brentford's rose from 1.48 xG to 1.84 xGoT – essentially, the level of finishing from Brentford's players increased the likelihood they would score, while Bournemouth's finishing was below what would have been anticipated based on the quality of chances they had. That is further backed up by the fact the Cherries only got three of their 15 attempts on target.
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