Arsenal's captain and vice-captain -Thomas Vermaelen and Mikel Arteta - acknowledged the lack of cutting edge in their team, and coupled with the falling defensive discipline, the Gunners find themselves having to come through a difficult patch both domestically and in Europe - something that will definitely test what this side is made of.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Ibrahim Afellay, two players who were ironically linked with Arsenal moves in the summer, got in on the scoresheet to take control of Group B, leading by one point from Arsenal, who stay on six points.

Arsenal barely created a chance for the second time in four days, and it is a problem Vermaelen is finding difficult to understand. "We are struggling to score goals at the moment, then at the end we let in two," he said. "It is really disappointing we lost at home (to non-English opposition) for the first time in nine years in the Champions League.

"We only had one shot. That is usually our strength technically; creating a lot of chances to score a lot of goals. At the moment it is a little bit difficult, but we have to stay positive and work hard day in, day out. In the end I'm positive we will come back strong."

Arsenal now face a reverse fixture in Gelsenkirchen in a couple of weeks' time, and Vermaelen knows the importance of picking up a good result. "We go to Schalke in two weeks, so we can get points there if we can," he added. "A lot can happen. Things go badly, but we can improve really quickly.

"That is football and I'm staying positive. The only thing is to stay focused and work hard. It is really important to stay together as a team. The results aren't great at the moment, but in these times you have to stay together and get stronger as a group."

Arteta rued giving away a soft goal, which gave Schalke the lead and eventually allowed them to hit Arsenal on the counter to notch the second. "It was a really tough game and there wasn't a big difference between the sides," he said. "We conceded a sloppy goal because you can't leave Huntelaar alone in the penalty area.

"It makes it very tough for us because we have to go to Germany and get the points. We have to put this night behind us and bounce back after two defeats."

Meanwhile, the two goalscorers for Schalke were expectedly happy with their efforts. "It is always nice to score in the Champions League, especially in a big stadium like this," Afellay said. "We've beaten Arsenal 2-0 and that provides a very good feeling. We were away to Arsenal and they are a very good team. They saw a lot of the ball, but didn't create many chances and we did. I think we controlled the second half.

"The mood in the camp is very positive now after two very big games. First we won in Dortmund and that is a big derby in Germany. Then to play here against Arsenal in the Champions League and win leaves a very good feeling in the team."

"My goal was important --  it put us 1-0 up though there was quite a lot of time left," Huntelaar added. "It is an important win. Today it went well and hopefully the next few games will follow in the same vein, but the main thing is we won.

'Everybody is obviously happy because we have seven points now, but we must go on now. We have three more matches and the next one could be key."