Mikel Arteta was left ‘very, very angry’ about Arsenal’s display in their 1-0 loss to West Ham and said they ‘deserve to feel the pain’ as Sky Sports’ Paul Merson said their title hopes are ‘one million per cent’ over.

Jarrod Bowen’s close-range header before half-time proved decisive in a game which also saw a red card for Arsenal substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly as the Gunners failed to close the gap to Liverpool.

Arne Slot’s side remain eight points clear ahead of their trip to Manchester City on Super Sunday and Arteta, who started Mikel Merino as a makeshift striker following his two-goal cameo against Leicester, insisted Arsenal’s attacking injuries were no excuse for their poor showing.

“Very disappointed, obviously very angry as well,” he said in his press conference. “I think you have to congratulate West Ham for the victory and the game that they played.

“But there was a lot from our side that we never got right and didn’t allow us to get enough momentum, enough sequences of play with positive action that could deliver situations of threat for them.

“I never felt that we were at the standard and the level that we needed.

“We have to be [angry]. I hope we are very much because we didn’t hit the levels today and I am very much responsible of that. So I am very, very, very angry.”

Arsenal lost Kai Havertz to a season-ending knee injury earlier this month having failed to strengthen their attack in the January transfer window. They are also without Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus, with the latter out for the rest of the campaign, like Havertz.

“No, no, no,” he said when asked if the performance vindicated his comments about wanting a new striker in January. “I think we have to look in the mirror of ourselves of what we can do better.

“The will and the desire and the way we run and the way we want it. Zero question about that. But at that level, it is not enough.

“You have to deliver and it has to be with a lot of quality to break a really good team down to win many more duels than we have done and to put action that can end up in a really threatening moment for the position to win the game and today we haven’t done that.”

Asked about their chances of catching Liverpool in the title race, Arteta added: “It’s not in our hands. For me, I’m really, really annoyed with the things that are in our hands that we didn’t do as well as we possibly could and that’s the performance and the result today.”

Arsenal travel to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest on Wednesday and Arteta urged his players to “feel the pain” of the result as they bid to bounce back. “We have to feel the pain, we deserve it,” he said.

“We have to suffer. Twenty-four, 48 hours, suffer and feel the pain and make sure that we come back on Monday with that bite and that anger still in the tummy for Wednesday.”