Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, whose side’s title chase formally ended on Saturday when they lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest, has described the season-long battle with Manchester City as incredible but said his team now needs time to heal.

Speaking in the wake of the loss, which saw Forest secure their Premier League survival for another season, Arteta said: “This is football. It is a very sad day, we have been working for 11 months with that aim and have been on top for so many days.

“We have competed but we didn’t have enough.

“Now we must heal. It is very painful. I have to find a way to lift the players and we have a tough week ahead of us.”

Speaking to the BBC’s Match of the Day he added: “We have to congratulate City.

“It has been an incredible journey for us over 10 months competing with City, being ahead of them for so long.

“We have learned huge lessons. We have transformed a lot at this club. We have made huge steps, but the icing on the cake is to win a championship and we fell short.”

Reflecting on the season Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale added his thoughts, saying: “We had a few games where we dropped points through individual mistakes. Those three or four games are where it’s gone wrong.

“The dust won’t settle until the summer. We are very disappointed how it has happened but we are proud we pushed all the way.

“One team in six seasons has beaten Manchester City to the title. But it was our own doing, individual errors in games we should have won.”