Wednesday 1 February 2017 09:38, UK
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants his side to respond from their shock 2-1 defeat to Watford with victory at Chelsea on Saturday.
Younes Kaboul and Troy Deeney both scored inside the opening 13 minutes to put Watford in control at the Emirates Stadium and despite Alex Iwobi's second-half strike, the Gunners suffered their first loss of 2017.
The result leaves them nine points behind Antonio Conte's side heading into the clash at Stamford Bridge - which is live on Sky Sports.
Asked if the defeat adds even more significance to the match with leaders Chelsea, Wenger told Sky Sports: "We are never in a position where you must lose.
"You always want to win and that's the next game.
"We want to respond to our disappointment tonight and produce a good performance."
When asked whether Tuesday's result was a missed opportunity with Chelsea dropping points at Liverpool, the Frenchman added: "Of course but you make your league position with your own performances, not the other results.
"The other results only come once you have done what you had to do."
Arsenal were caught cold in the early stages as Watford took a surprise early lead after Kaboul's drive took a huge deflection off Aaron Ramsey and flew past Petr Cech.
The second Watford goal followed shortly afterwards as Etienne Capoue broke forward, eased past Shkodram Mustafi and, although his effort was saved by Cech, Deeney was on hand to snaffle home the rebound.
Wenger felt his side were not up for the physical challenge of Watford.
"We were not ready for the challenges," Wenger said. "We were a bit in between and maybe we paid a heavy price for that.
"We were dominated in too many duels. We paid for it because we just didn't start sharp enough. It happens sometimes and you are not punished but we today were punished.
"In the second-half we responded very well. We are a bit unlucky to lose the game and overall that sums it up well."
Arsenal's problems increased as Ramsey was forced off through injury with a little over 15 minutes on the clock, and Wenger revealed the Wales international had suffered a calf injury.
"It's a calf problem," he said.
When asked if the injury was a bad one, he added: "I don't know. You have to wait 48 hours to see."
