Head coach Steve Cooper could not hide his disappointment after Nottingham Forest were thrashed 5-0 by Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
On the back of defeating Liverpool last weekend, Forest travelled to North London on a high as they bid to move off the bottom of the Premier League standings.
However, Forest went behind as early as the fifth minute and never recovered as Arsenal cantered to a dominant victory at the Emirates Stadium.
As well as a double for Reiss Nelson, Gabriel Martinelli, Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard also got on the scoresheet as the Gunners reclaimed top spot in the division.
From Forest's perspective, they remain three points adrift of safety, while their goal difference is now the worst in the division by four goals.
Commenting on the setback after the full-time whistle. Cooper has insisted that he has no intention of ignoring the magnitude of the defeat, regardless of the form and status of their opponents.
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As quoted by the Nottingham Post, Cooper said: "We don't just take it on the chin, we have to deal with it, because we fell way short today in terms of competing. Of course, we could have played really well here and still not got anything out of the game - it was always going to be a tough game.
"But the situation we are in - or any situation you're in in competitive sport - the bare minimum you have to do is to stand up and be counted, fight and be hard to beat. We just didn't do that well enough at the start of the game.
"I can't think of tackles, even fouls, which can happen when you are competing - even bookings. Players running past us, one-twos etc. In the end, if you're not going to do that, particularly at this level, then you are going to get hurt.
"It's frustrating, because I think we've made some good steps on that part of the game in recent weeks. To take more than a step backwards on that part of our game is really frustrating, and it ended up costing us."
Ahead of the break for the World Cup, Forest face a home double-header against Brentford and Crystal Palace, teams who sit in mid-table yet are only seven points clear of the East Midlands giants.
Darren Plant
