Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes a tough week was to blame for his side's loss to Aston Villa.
The Gunners went into their Premier League game with Vill with significant momentum, having beaten Liverpool in the league and Manchester City in the FA Cup.
But they fell to a narrow away defeat, which means they cannot finish in the top seven this season.
"I am really disappointed with the result," Arteta told the club's website. "I cannot fault the effort of the players, for sure.
"You could see how they were going every time we lost the ball, how aggressive we were, Villa couldn't put three or four passes together. It was a very different game to the last two.
"We completely dominated, we played in the opponents' half but we missed that spark and the ball in the final third to create more.
"We knew about Villa's set-pieces, we conceded another goal there and it cost us the points.
"The boys are really disappointed. They wanted to keep building momentum.
"It's been a really demanding week emotionally and physically for them, and I know how much they wanted to win today again to give us a chance to qualify for Europe from the Premier League. But we're going to try in the final."
