"The only thing we can take out of the game is our second-half performance," he said after the 3-1 defeat.
"Arsenal are a fantastic side and the best team won by a mile but I know we can do a lot better than we did in the first half.
"I thought we were fortunate to be only three goals down at half time. It didn't surprise me that Arsenal bounced back as they did after the Manchester United defeat.
"This was what disappointed me as the players had been made aware of how Arsenal would respond. When you play sides like Arsenal the one thing you have to do is work really hard and be in their faces. We were not in the game and whether the lads were in awe I do not know.
"We now have the big boys out of the way and there are a lot of games that we can expect to win."