LONDON: Mikel Arteta has urged shell-shocked Arsenal to embrace a major test of their character as they seek to recover from a pair of devastating defeats in Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final at Sporting Lisbon.
Arteta's side suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at second tier Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, a fortnight after losing 2-0 to Manchester City in the League Cup final.
The Gunners had been chasing an unprecedented quadruple until their domestic cup dreams were demolished in painful fashion.
The chastening loss to Southampton was only Arsenal's fifth defeat this season and marked the first time they have been beaten in successive games in this campaign.
Arsenal's slump has plunged the club's long-suffering fans into a bout of soul-searching.
The north Londoners haven't won a trophy since the 2020 FA Cup and three consecutive runners-up finishes in the Premier League have raised doubts about their ability to finally land silverware.
Arteta is convinced Arsenal can handle the mounting pressure of bidding to win the Champions League for the first time, while aiming to finally lift the Premier League trophy after a 22-year wait.
"In the season, you always have moments, normally two or three. This is the first moment that we have with a certain level of difficulty," Arteta said.
"We're going to say difficulty when we're going to play the Champions League quarter-finals and the run-up for the league.
"If this is a difficult period, I believe there are many other ones that are much more difficult, so let's stand up, make yourself comfortable and deliver like we've been doing all season."
'Beautiful period'
Arteta knows Arsenal are in a strong position in both competitions, travelling to Lisbon as favourites to dispatch Sporting and holding a nine-point lead over second-placed Manchester City in the Premier League.
"I love my players. What they have done for nine months, I'm not going to criticise them because we lost a game in the manner that they are putting their bodies through everything," Arteta said.
"I'm going to defend them more than ever. Someone has to take responsibility. That's me and we have the most beautiful period of the season ahead of us."
Arsenal will also take heart from their 5-1 rout of Sporting in the Champions League group stage last season, when their Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres was playing for the Portuguese club.
Gyokeres endured a difficult start to his first season with Arsenal following his move to the Emirates Stadium last year.
But he has emerged as an influential presence in recent weeks, scoring their equaliser against Southampton and netting twice in the north London derby win at Tottenham.
Gyokeres also bagged Sweden's late play-off winner against Poland to book their place at the World Cup.
But Arsenal's double bid is in danger of being derailed by injuries, with Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka is a race to be fit to face Sporting after missing the Southampton game and England's recent friendlies.
Gabriel Magalhaes is also a doubt after the centre-back was forced off with a knee injury against Southampton.
Arsenal midfielder Christian Norgaard struck an upbeat note in the face of adversity.
"The message is to have a positive body language, to talk with your team-mates, with the coaching staff. Now is not the time to go with our heads down for too long," Norgaard said.
"It's fine to be frustrated and also to analyse what went wrong, but then we also have to look forward because there are so many big games coming up for this club."