Arsene Wenger admitted Arsenal have been left to regret their recent results after a comfortable 2-0 home win over West Brom moved them up to third in the Premier League.
The Gunners saw their title hopes fade after they failed to hold onto leads in back-to-back games against West Ham and Crystal Palace and had to settle for draws.
While they returned to winning ways against West Brom thanks to Alexis Sanchez's first-half double, Wenger told Sky Sports: "We have regrets. In recent games, we had two draws when we should have won the games several times, you pay for dropped points like that.
"The quality of our game was as good tonight as it has been in recent games, but we did not always get maximum points for the quality of our performances."
Some fans stayed away from the Emirates on Thursday to show their displeasure at the team's recent results, with a number of empty seats visible throughout the match.
But the Gunners dominated almost from start to finish against the Baggies and the only frustration for Wenger was that they did not win by a greater margin.
"We did the job in a serious way," he said. "Technically we played very well. Overall, the only regret was we should have scored more.
"You want your team to take every chance, but unfortunately it doesn't work always like that. You have to make the right decisions, sometimes you want to combine, sometimes you should shoot, it's down to the players and that's down to fractions of seconds.
"The early goal helped to focus on the way we played, rather than being anxious about the result, it was important and helped the team."
The win moves Arsenal four points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United ahead of a trip to relegation-threatened Sunderland on Sunday.
"It was very important for us to win. Now let's try to win the next one," said Wenger. "That will be a tough battle, let's prepare well, we have a good chance but it's far from done."