Time to show what we're made of, says Arteta, after Arsenal setback

LONDON, Jan 25 : Winning a Premier League title is never going to be a stroll in the park and Arsenal got a painful reminder of that on Sunday with a 3-2 home defeat by Manchester United increasing the jitters for the north London club.

At times this season Mikel Arteta's side have looked like disappearing into the distance at the top of the table with reigning champions Liverpool struggling and Manchester City still not the relentless force they once were.

With City and Aston Villa - the two sides hoping to chase Arsenal down - dropping points in recent weeks, Arsenal could have built a daunting advantage as they seek to win their first title for 22 years after a series of near misses.

Instead, they have picked up only two points from their last three games and have seen their lead cut to four points with 15 games still to play after Sunday's loss, their first home defeat of the season in all competitions.

It is a position that Arteta would have signed for at the start of the season, but the anxiety levels are rising after stunning second-half goals by Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha sealed United's first league win at Arsenal since 2017.

"If you want to win (the title) you have to go through these moments," Arteta said. "It's totally unrealistic to win every game you play, the margins are very small and today even smaller because of the manner we did certain things.

"Now it's time to react, to see what we are made of."

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard said Sunday's display was "not good enough" while Patrick Vieira, who captained Arsenal's Invincibles to the club's last league title in 2004, said they needed to get back to basics.

"They need to express themselves, play with freedom, and go forward. There were too many players