Arsene Wenger has admitted that Arsenal's title hopes may have been killed off by defeat to Manchester City.
The Gunners now trail City by twelve points following their 1-0 loss at the Etihad Stadium.
Wenger has accepted that it will be hard for his side to close the gap in the title race.
"It will be difficult to close the gap on City, but we will try," said the Frenchman.
"This is a game we couldn't afford to lose and that's why it's difficult to take but we will continue to fight and there are a lot of positives.
"The team has made a lot of progress since August and the team can be proud of it. The team has a fantastic spirit and we have shown that again.
"Let's hope we can continue our progress and get closer to City."
Arsenal currently sit 5th in the league.