Thursday 3 March 2016 08:47, UK
Arsene Wenger says his side were unlucky to lose 2-1 at home to Swansea and called for a response in the north London derby against Tottenham.
Arsenal took the lead through Joel Campbell's 15th-minute strike at the Emirates Stadium, before goals from Wayne Routledge and Ashley Williams saw the away side claim the three points - much to the bemusement of the Gunners boss.
"We were a bit unlucky on the night," Wenger told Sky Sports. "We hit the bar a few times, we were on top and were a bit unlucky for the first goal because it was a foul [on Mesut Ozil in the build-up] and they took advantage of that.
"I still can't understand that as it's under the eyes of the referee. We were really unlucky with that decision.
"They had two shots on target and [scored] two goals. It was a shame to lose a game like that, but we have to respond to that because we play very quickly again.
"They defended well and at the moment we're lacking confidence in front of goal. We have to deal with that."
There were boos around the Emirates as goalscorer Campbell was replaced in the second half by Danny Welbeck, with the Arsenal fans unhappy to see one of their more impressive performers on the night withdrawn.
But Wenger defended the decision to take off the Costa Rica international, saying he wasn't fit enough to play the full 90 minutes.
"I knew he hadn't played for a while and he started to tire," said Wenger. "He was playing against a very young boy on the left and I felt Welbeck's runs in behind could give him some problems. But Campbell did very well."
Wenger, who also confirmed Petr Cech will miss the trip to Tottenham on Saturday, along with Laurent Koscielny, insisted he had already turned his attention fully to White Hart Lane.
Meanwhile, Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker insisted his team will fight to get back into the title race.
"We tried really hard and the effort was fine tonight, different to what we provided against Manchester United," he told Sky Sports.
"We played quite well but [always] missed the last pass and hit the post a couple of times. It didn't go for us tonight, but it's not the end of the world. We'll fight again and think about [our next game] on Saturday.
"We wanted a better result and performance, but these are small margins and we should have done better defensively. At the end you could feel there was a nervousness all over the place and we didn't react well to that.
"It's very tight at the top so everyone is getting nervous. Leicester are top and have a big advantage now but it's not over."
