Arsenal fans are reflecting on what went wrong against Manchester City.
The Gunners suffered a 1-0 loss at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon with Raheem Sterling's goal inside the opening two minutes proving to be the difference between the two teams.
And speaking after the game, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta bemoaned the poor start his side made.
"To start the way we did conceding the goal and the way we did it, you have to be exceptional for the rest of the game and you have to nail it in every single department - and we didn't do it," the Spaniard said in his post-match press conference.
"We had some really good moments and moments where we matched them up and made it tough for them but the reality is when we break them and find the open spaces to attack them we lacked the final pass and quality to score two or three goals.
"That was my worry because the formation the players that they used today there's nothing worse than going behind early. Because it puts the game exactly where they want it, with time on the ball, creating overloads with the false nine anywhere they want on the pitch.
"And you become impatient and frustrated and I thought that the team reacted really well to that and we gave them a real game.
"At the moment they are best team because they dominate every single department and credit to them because they are incredible."
Arteta's admission that his side lacked quality in the final third is an assessment shared by many Arsenal supporters who have pinpointed a reason for it.
Fans have noticed a lack of chemistry between Nicolas Pepe and Hector Bellerin down the right-hand side, comparing it to Kieran Tierney and Bukayo Saka's partnership on the opposite flank.
Take a look at what's been said on Twitter...
@ShanoG14 said: "Arteta shafting Pepe again by putting him with Elneny and Bellerin. Bellerin had how many chances to pass to him but refuses."
@afcbarry2 said: "It’s not Pepe at fault it’s entirely Bellerin. He can’t pass. Can’t play football."
@akramhashem1 said: "Hector Bellerin genuinely looks like he doesn’t want to play football with Nicolas Pepe and there’s no other explanation as to why he would rather kill an attack than pass it forward to him."
