Albert Sambi Lokonga says he and his Arsenal team-mates must stay united after slumping to a third Premier League defeat in a row.
Arsenal lost 1-0 to Southampton on Saturday, with Jan Bednarek scoring the only goal, and they have duly slipped to sixth in the Premier League.
It is a major blow to Arsenal’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, particularly as they had begun April in fourth position.
Lokonga has urged the squad to stick together and call upon how they bounced back after losing their first three League games of the season.
“I think all the team is disappointed because of these few weeks, losing three games in a row,” he said. “So we have to believe in each other, and we have to stay together.
“We have to stick together and we have to keep trusting each other. We have been through this at the start of the season, so we can do it again.
“We are all on the same page and we are in this together. We have to look game by game and bounce back.”
Mikel Arteta has echoed Lokonga’s words and has promised to put an arm around his disappointed players.
Arsenal are back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Chelsea, before hosting Manchester United on Saturday.
“Give all their support in the world to them, because they need it,” he said. “They are 19, 20, 21 years old, most of them and that’s what they need.
“We are in the same position where we were with one less game. We have to play on Wednesday and we have to lift them up. And the task is big, but the opportunity is as well. It’s so precious and we all want to do it.
“And we are going through the Premier League when we go against one team and we do what we did and today we come here and we are who we are, but at the end you have to win the matches and you want to be there. That has to be defined in the boxes.”
