Declan Rice said Arsenal let their “standards slip” after William Saliba’s red card set them on the way to a first Premier League defeat of the season against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
The defender was dismissed after 30 minutes for denying striker Evanilson a clear run on goal as the visitors finished with 10 men for the third time this term.
Ryan Christie’s strike 20 minutes from time and a late Justin Kluivert penalty meant Mikel Arteta’s team missed the chance to go top of the table.
“It’s three times in eight games now we’ve let our standards slip,” said Rice. “If we want to compete at the top we can’t let that happen.
“The reaction we showed to that, the belief we showed that we could go and win the game and the chances that we had, I’m proud of these boys and proud of the mentality that they show.
“We’ll keep pushing, we’ll keep fighting on.
“So disappointing because we wanted to stay unbeaten, we wanted to win the game. But this is football and it’s a real rollercoaster. It’s never going to be perfect. It’s going to be ups and downs, but we need to stick together.”
Saliba was initially shown a yellow card by referee Robert Jones for dragging down Evanilson near the centre circle, but after a pitch-side review the punishment was upgraded meaning the defender will miss his side’s next match against Liverpool.
It means that all three games in which Arsenal have dropped points this season have seen them have a man sent off, following Rice’s dismissal against Brighton and Leandro Trossard’s red card at Manchester City. Both matches finished level.
“If affects (the approach) massively,” said Rice.
“The game stays 11 v 11 I think we go on to win. We still created some amazing chances. They were throwing everything at us and leaving big spaces. But that’s football. You can’t wish for that or gamble, you need to earn it.”
Arsenal had a golden chance to take the lead after going down to 10 men, substitute Gabriel Martinelli being denied by Kepa Arrizabalaga after the goalkeeper had initially gifted the ball to Mikel Merino.
A minute later, the home side led via a well-worked corner routine, Kluivert cleverly diverting a low ball at the near post into the path of Christie who fired it first time beyond the static David Raya.
The defeat was sealed when Jakub Kiwior allowed Evanilson to nip in over his shoulder and steal the ball, drawing Raya from his goal and into a foul on the striker. From the penalty spot, Kluivert sent the goalkeeper the wrong way for 2-0.
“The two mistakes we made at critical times,” said Rice. “It wasn’t enough.”