"The players are all very lucky to have had the week that we've had," explained Mikel Arteta in his pre-match press conference, quoted by Football London.
Despite the back-to-back defeats to Aston Villa and Bayern Munich, Arteta believes the players should be prepared to face all sorts of ups and downs in a title race.
"Because these are the weeks that we want and have been seeking for many years to have at Arsenal," continued the boss.
"You have to deal with that. If you want to be in this position, you have to go through it and it's going to be tough.
"Against those opponents, the margins are minimal and you have to try to compete to be better than them.
"But maybe even if you are better, you don't win? Like what happened at home against Bayern and against Villa.
"Are you ready to react to that? If not you're not ready to be living these kinds of weeks and we want to be living these kinds of weeks.
"Don't feel sorry for yourself - if we want to be here we have to be prepared because this is a possibility."
The dropped points have cost Arsenal dearly - they are out of the Champions League and have slipped two points behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
The Gunners, of course, will have a chance for redemption when they take on Wolverhampton Wanderers later this Saturday.
A win would propel Arsenal to the top of the table momentarily. If they drop points, Liverpool could overtake provided the Merseysiders beat Fulham on Sunday.
Latest news
