Mikel Arteta urged Arsenal to respond against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday after a shabby performance at Crystal Palace slowed their Champions League push.
The Gunners had surged into top-four contention, but an underwhelming outing at Selhurst Park in a 3-0 reverse on Monday condemned them to a second loss in their last three Premier League games (W1), having lost just one of their previous 11 (W9 D1).
North London rivals Tottenham, who cruised past Newcastle United 5-1 on Sunday, occupy the final place in England's top four, though they are level on points with Arteta's side, who have a game in hand.
Manager Arteta called for a reaction from his team when they host Brighton, who have not defeated, or even scored against, Arsenal in their last three league meetings.
"Monday is gone. We're looking forward to playing in front of our fans," Arteta said in a pre-match news conference on Friday.
"We have to play better and we have to compete much better than we did on Monday. [The setback] has happened and it's happened with nine games to go, and we have to react now.
"We have to show tomorrow the energy, the commitment and the passion that we want to play the game tomorrow in front of our fans. Embrace the challenge."
Matters were made worse against Patrick Vieira's side after it was confirmed Kieran Tierney could miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, and Thomas Partey continues to be monitored for a thigh problem that will keep him out for "some weeks".
"You lost, now you want to win, it's hurting and it's still hurting. We lost two big players, two really important players for us for sure," Arteta said.
"But whenever that happens you can't cry for it because they are not going to be available for us. So we have to find other solutions, and we have to be as good and as competitive as we have been."
Nuno Tavares was hooked off at half-time as he endured a torrid outing at left-back against Palace, with Jordan Ayew's strike a combination of his and Gabriel Magalhaes' fault through miscommunication.
However, Arteta assured the young Portugal defender he will bounce back from his mistakes.
"Throughout your career you have to go through difficult moments, and he's had some really good periods since he arrived at the club, and he was playing many more minutes than he was probably expecting," Arteta said of Tavares.
"That's the life of a player, especially at that age. There's ups and downs, and we are here to try and help him and make his career better, and that's what we're going to do.
"He is ready and he is willing, and he will be disappointed, but it's part of the job and we have to make decisions to try to win football matches. There is nothing personal there."
Crucial to Arsenal's hopes against Brighton will be the performance of Alexandre Lacazette, who has not scored from open play in any of his last 16 appearances across all competitions.
That amounts to 22 hours and 28 minutes without an open-play goal for the former Lyon striker since his last against Southampton in December, but Arteta expressed his support.
"Laca's contribution to the team in many other ways has been phenomenal," Arteta said.
Premier League MD4: Lucky winners and unlucky losers
The Premier League is back after the international break, with plenty more thrills and spills to keep everyone entertained.
Manchester United got back to winning ways with a sweeping 3-0 win over Southampton, while Nottingham Forest stunned Liverpool at Anfield.
Manchester City continued their perfect start with a comeback win over Brentford, and on Sunday Arsenal claimed bragging rights in the North London derby.
But who were the lucky winners and the unlucky losers to emerge from this weekend's set of fixtures, according to the underlying metrics?
With the help of Opta data, let's find out.
Lucky winners: Nottingham Forest
Liverpool had made a perfect start to life under Arne Slot and were yet to concede a goal heading into matchday 4, but after a two-week break, things were not quite as rosy.
The Tricky Trees had faced 26 strikes before Callum Hudson-Odoi's long-range effort curled beyond Alisson, ending a 55-year wait for a Forest win at Anfield.
Forest managed just five shots in the game, creating an expected goals (xG) of 0.44, with Hudson-Odoi's strike only contributing 0.07 to that. They also managed just five touches in the opposition box.
Liverpool may not have been at their high-flying best, but they had 34 touches in the opposition area and had 14 attempts on Forest's goal but could not find a way through a well-drilled Nuno Espirito Santo side as Slot got his first taste of defeat in the job.
Unlucky losers: Brighton
Technically, Brighton were not 'losers' as they continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 0-0 draw with Ipswich Town.
But based on the metrics, they were unlucky not to come away with three points against the newly promoted side.
The Seagulls had a whopping 21 shots at the Amex Stadium, but accumulated just 1.66 xG, and only managed to test Arijanet Muric on six occasions despite their continued dominance.
They also had three big chances, from which players would have been anticipated to do better, but Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter failed to convert them as Fabian Hurzeler's side endured a frustrating day.
Lucky winners: Arsenal
Most Arsenal fans will not care how the victory over rivals Tottenham happened, just that they came away from the visit with three points, but the Gunners were savvy in their victory.
Indeed, Arsenal's two lowest possession averages (on record) in a Premier League game against Spurs have both come in 2024, with Sunday’s match their lowest total (36.3%).
Mikel Arteta's side did create a slightly higher xG (0.74 to 0.71), but from a much lower shot count as they only had seven attempts on Spurs’ goal, with Gabriel Magalhaes’ close-range header worth 0.23 xG.
It was Arsenal's lowest xG of the season so far (0.87 xG on MD2 is second), but their clinical edge proved the difference against a wasteful Spurs.
Unlucky losers: Fulham
Like Brighton, Fulham do not class as losers as they drew 1-1 with West Ham, but Marco Silva will be disappointed to have let the three points slip from their grasp.
Raul Jimenez's goal looked to have earned them a second win of the season until Danny Ings' clinical finish denied them.
Fulham were another of the teams to have 21 shots this weekend, the joint-most along with the Seagulls, though their 1.54 xG came in slightly lower, despite creating four big chances, of which they squandered three.
West Ham had only accumulated 0.52 xG until Ings' intervention, pushing it up to 0.76 with their third and last shot on target, condemning the Cottagers to a second consecutive draw.
Montego Bay United, Arnett Gardens, Mount Pleasant secure wins to open 2024-25 Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League
Montego Bay United FC, Arnett Gardens FC and Mount Pleasant Academy all secured wins on Sunday’s first day of the 2024-25 Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League (JPL) season.
Four-time champions Montego Bay United were the biggest winners of the opening week, securing a 4-1 victory over Vere Phoenix United FC at the Wembley Centre of Excellence, their first opening game win since they joined Jamaica’s top football league 13 years ago.
MBU took the lead in the seventh minute through newcomer Jordan Britto before Vere got on level terms four minutes later through Damion Thomas.
That score held through the rest of the first half but the second half was all Montego Bay United as Brian Brown, captain Owayne Gordon and Shaniel Thomas all scored within 15 minutes of each other to complete the 4-1 score line.
At the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, a Warner Brown double in the ninth and 10th minutes and a 55th minute goal from Kimani Arbouine gave Arnett Gardens a 3-0 win over Dunbeholden FC.
Last season’s beaten finalists, Mount Pleasant Academy, opened their season with a 2-0 win over Portmore United at Ferdie Neita Park.
The goals for the Theodore Whitmore-led unit came from Sue-Lae McCalla in the 27th minute and Shaquille Bradford in first half stoppage time.
Real Madrid handed injury boosts ahead of Champions League opener
Carlo Ancelotti expects to have several players back from injury in time for Real Madrid's Champions League opener against Stuttgart on Tuesday.
Jude Bellingham, Aurelien Tchouameni and Eder Militao are set to be available for the match at the Santiago Bernabeu, despite the Brazilian missing training as he required an extra day to recover fully.
Madrid won their record-extending 15th Champions League title last season, beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the final to get their hands on the trophy.
Los Blancos were a force to be reckoned with in the competition last year, and were only behind for 7% of their total match time in the Champions League last season; the lowest percentage of any team.
Former mainstays Nacho, Joselu and the now-retired Toni Kroos are no longer part of the squad, and Madrid will also be without Eduardo Camavinga through injury.
However, Ancelotti said he was excited to start their title defence with "the best player in the world" Kylian Mbappe.
"Yes, we lost Nacho and Kroos, two of our most important players. And Joselu. In exchange, one of the best players in the world is coming. Do we have a better squad than last year? I think so," Ancelotti told reporters on Monday.
Meanwhile, it was Carvajal, who scored the opening goal in their triumph over Dortmund, who confirmed Bellingham's involvement, noting his importance to the side.
"Jude's return is fantastic news for us. We know what he contributes with and without the ball," defender Dani Carvajal said.
"We demand much more from ourselves and tomorrow is a new opportunity to continue growing."
All three European club competitions have been expanded to 36 teams this season and Ancelotti's side will also be taking part in the expanded men's 32-team Club World Cup, starting next June in the United States.
Forward Brahim Diaz was the latest player to be sidelined in a slew of injuries, and Ancelotti said their gruelling schedule was to blame.
"The calendar is too demanding. A new competition is coming, and we don't know how it will turn out," he added.
"It may or may not be more entertaining. The fact is that we have two more games in this competition."
The Italian, who has won the Champions League five times as a manager and twice as a player, said the competition holds a place above all else in his heart.
"For me this competition is very special, not only for the club. But it's not just that, it's the day-to-day work to get there," he said.
"The [Champions League] will always be the same even if they change the format a little and [its relation with] Real Madrid, the same. This [year] is going to be another [chance] at history and I hope we can reach the final like last year."
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