Mikel Arteta said the pain of Arsenal's Carabao Cup final defeat to Man City would help them in the run-in. Keeping the narrative positive after their FA Cup exit to Southampton won't be so easy.
Do Arsenal have the temperament of champions?
That is the question that will now be asked of his squad in the aftermath of a shock quarter-final defeat at St Mary's.
Lower-league opposition in the last eight – regardless of Southampton's recent form – was a huge opportunity to go back to Wembley and set up the chance of another final to end that six-year trophy wait.
Their draw with Sporting in the Champions League quarter-finals is also billed as a favourable one. Their lead in the Premier League should be seen as commanding.
But nothing seems certain for this Arsenal team now.
Arteta's solid, dependable unit is wobbling at the crucial moment.
Where previously there was cold efficiency there is now vulnerability.
Chatter of a quadruple is now talk of whether they will win anything at all.
That City win in the league cup final felt like a significant blow at the time. Their 4-0 thumping of Liverpool earlier on Saturday, when coupled with Arsenal's tame loss on the south coast, should now be sounding alarm bells in north London.
City are nine points behind Arsenal in the Premier League but have a game in hand. After a tricky home test with Bournemouth next weekend and the second leg of that Sporting tie, Arsenal go to the Etihad.
An Arsenal squad and fanbase scarred by City hunting them down in previous title races will undeniably - and rightly - be concerned.
City have shown they know what it takes to win. For Arsenal, the next two weeks will be a gruelling examination of their character - and whether they have that champion temperament.
Individual errors on the rise
Arsenal's nervousness about taking the final step to glory seems to be playing out in individual errors being made at key moments.
At Wembley it was Kepa spilling a cross for Nico O'Reilly to score Man City's opener, at St Mary's Ben White mistimed his jump to allow Ross Stewart to power in the first for Southampton.
That's now eight goals from Arsenal errors in the past 23 games, according to Opta. There was just one in the 28 games before that.
A defensive weakness exposed?
"We didn't manage the long balls well enough, which is something very strange," Arteta told the BBC after the loss at Southampton. "In the first half, we just let the ball through us and they were one against one. The way we concede the second goal was very similar."
Whether it is down to a change in centre-back personnel, with William Saliba on the bench on Saturday, or disruption with David Raya not playing behind the backline against City or Southampton, it is an issue opposition sides will be zoning in on.
Injury issues
Arsenal's list of injuries isn't as long as it may have been, given the extent of their international withdrawals. But key players are either unavailable or lacking full fitness.
Gabriel looks to be heading back to the treatment room after suffering a problem at Saints, while the instrumental Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka weren't in the squad on Saturday. They are Arsenal's two top set-piece takers, while Eberechi Eze's absence adds to open-play attacking limitations.
Martin Odegaard did make his first start since January 25 and Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke and Saliba were able to come on as subs but this is certainly not an Arsenal squad fully fit and firing right now.
City on the charge
This current City side may not be on the same level as some of Guardiola's greatest teams. But that manager and that club carry an aura about them when they are in the chase for the championship at the business end of a season.
They may not be capable of winning 12 on the spin, like they did in 2023 to win the title by five points from Arsenal.
They may not even be able to match the nine-game winning streak which earned them the crown in 2024 by a point ahead of Arsenal.
But they don't need to. There are just seven games to play and if City can repeat the quality they produced at Wembley and against Liverpool in their past two performances, they will believe another title charge is on.
Importantly, an Arsenal side which have been overhauled before, may be thinking that too.
Arsenal's next five games:
Man City's next five games:
