Cedric Soares has urged Arsenal to not let defeat to Liverpool derail their quest to qualify for the Champions League.
Arsenal went into the game on the back of five Premier League wins in a row, but they were beaten 2-0 after second-half goals from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino.
The Gunners remain fourth in the table, one point ahead of Manchester United in fifth and with two games in hand.
Arsenal return to action on Saturday, away to Aston Villa, and Cedric has told his team-mates to take the positives from defeat. “Most of the game we controlled, and even after the first goal we tried to react, and we conceded another one ... a little bit unfortunate,” he said.
“We need to stay positive and believe in what we do. We need to put our heads straight for Aston Villa. It’s very, very important that we have a good reaction.”
Arsenal take on Villa in the 12.30pm kick-off and Mikel Arteta has hit out at the quick turnaround. The Gunners face the same situation next month when they play Chelsea on Wednesday before hosting Manchester United at Saturday lunchtime.
“Thank you so much to the Premier League, to do that,” said the Arsenal boss. “And they’ve done it again when we have to play Chelsea and Manchester United, so if they want to give them any advantage, I say to them: ‘Thank you so much for doing that’.
“It’s always Sky or BT, this or that, but the only one that is affected is Arsenal and the only thing that I care about and what we care about, is Arsenal and for Arsenal, it’s not fair.”
Arsenal are set to be without defender Takehiro Tomiyasu for the trip to Villa. The right-back has a calf injury and has been left out of the Japan squad for this month’s World Cup qualifiers.
