Arteta said before the match that he wanted the crowd to “create more energy, more positiveness around the game” – but that was lacking as Arsenal chased a way back into the contest, with Emirates Stadium particularly nervy.

And there were some boos at the final whistle – although Arteta put those down to the “demands and expectation” that comes with challenging for the title.

“It’s part of the journey to winning,” he said. “If not, nobody will lose football matches.

“It’s how we react to that, and I am very convinced, because I know those players in the dressing them and how much we want it, that we’re going to react immediately.”

The Gunners boss did try to force a result with a quadruple change when his side were 2-1 down – but, despite getting back level, Matheus Cunha’s excellent late strike secured all three points for Manchester United.

“It doesn’t matter,” Arteta said when asked again about the reaction of the crowd. “We have to do more, so maybe that’s not enough. We have to do more, there’s nothing else. We have to do our very best.

“When you do that, you can rest in peace. Today we really certainly tried to do our very best, but we weren’t efficient enough against a team that is very well organised, and we got punished because of our own mistakes as well.”