Mikel Arteta insisted that it is up to his Arsenal team to provide a reaction after failing to restore their seven-point lead in the Premier League after losing to Manchester United. 

Arteta watched on as Matheus Cunha's 87th-minute curler clinched a 3-2 win for the Red Devils at Emirates Stadium, despite Mikel Merino levelling just three minutes earlier. 

The Gunners had gone in front courtesy of a Lisandro Martinez own-goal before Bryan Mbeumo, and a stunning strike from Patrick Dorgu turned the contest on its head. 

Merino thought he had done enough to salvage a point, but Cunha popped up with the winner to make it two wins from two for caretaker boss Michael Carrick. 

Indeed, Arsenal suffered their first Premier League defeat at the Emirates since last May (v Bournemouth).

It was also just the second home league game they had trailed in at any point this season, while 38% of their league goals conceded at home this term occurred on Sunday (3/8).

"You have to give credit to Manchester United. We gave them a goal which is unusual and painful, then they had two brilliant moments with incredible goals," Arteta conceded. 

"We were not at our best. In the first 30 minutes, we were in total control, scoring a goal, but after that, so many times we gave the ball away in important areas.

"We started to lose control and dominance, and it became a chaotic game. The players deserve a lot of praise for their consistency.

"When we lose a game, I take the responsibility, and I have to protect the players. We just gave it away.

"If you want to win, you have to go through these moments, and you can't expect to win every game. That's unrealistic.

"The margins are extremely small, and we made them even smaller. Now we have to react and see what we are made of.

"The first game is the Champions League [against Kairat on Wednesday]. Today we were not at our level, and we paid the price."

Arsenal also conceded 3+ goals in a match for the first time since December 2023 (against Luton Town), ending a run of 121 matches across all competitions without conceding more than twice.

But the Gunners only had themselves to blame. They gifted United the chance to get level when Martin Zubimendi's wayward pass allowed Mbeumo to steal in and score. 

It was the second time in the last four Premier League matches that Arsenal had made an error leading to an opposition goal, which is already more than in their first 19 games of the league campaign. 

And those lapses in concentration frustrated Martin Odegaard, who echoed the sentiments of his boss in his post-match assessment. 

"It was not good enough from us, and we need some time to analyse it," the Arsenal captain added. 

"We should've done better, but now is the time to stick together more, keep working, push each other more and bounce back.

"In the first half, we were the better team. We scored a goal and had control, but a lot of giveaways. We managed to get to 2-2, but then they scored straight away.

"It's never going to be easy in this league, we know that. I thought we were well-prepared, we started the game well, and in the second, we saw the momentum change a bit.

"The performance definitely should've been better for us, and we have to take the lesson and keep working.

"Every game is a big challenge; this is part of football. We are still top of the league, so we have to keep going and bounce back straight away. That's the only medicine."