Just a few weeks ago the Gunners were dreaming of an unprecedented quadruple but they lost to City in the League Cup final and were dumped out of the FA Cup by second-tier Southampton.
A wobble in the Premier League, which they have not won since 2004, raises major doubts about their staying power with six matches to go.
“It’s a big punch in the face, that’s what I said to the boys, and now it’s about how we react to that,” said a downbeat Arteta, whose team remain favourites for the title.
Five English sides will qualify for next season’s Champions League and fifth-placed Liverpool strengthened their case with a 2-0 home win against Fulham, easing the heat on manager Arne Slot.
Heavy defeats by Manchester City in the FA Cup and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League have piled the pressure on Slot, who had celebrated just two wins in eight games in all competitions before Saturday’s match.
“It’s a better place than it was two or three days ago or a week ago,” the Dutchman told Sky Sports.
“But it’s also not that after we win all of a sudden everything is good again.
Liverpool, who face PSG in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday with a 2-0 deficit, now have 52 points, four clear of Chelsea in sixth place.
Brentford and Everton, both with a chance to qualify for the Champions League, drew 2-2. (AFP)
