Arsenal skipper Thomas Vermaelen insisted the Gunners' two straight losses was not a result of a lack of positive mentality, while Carl Jenkinson admitted the team was angry and disappointed after their 1-0 loss at Norwich last Saturday.
Arsenal have been on a painful run, losing their last two games, while failing to create any substantial opportunities. Vermaelen, however, believes in the attitude of his squad and is confident of bouncing back in the English Premier League game against Queens Park Rangers.
"I should stress that the last two results have not been about our mentality," the Belgian international told the official matchday program.
"Everyone here works hard, and I can honestly say that the attitude in this group is fantastic. A few weeks ago we played a good game at West Ham and won 3-1, and you don't lose that in the space of seven days.
"Two negative results can put you down very quickly in football, but a couple of good games will do exactly the opposite. Of course it's been a disappointing and frustrating week, but we know we have the quality to get back on track."
Queens Park Ranger boasts of some international players in their squad, and while Vermaelen is convinced the London club will move up the table from their current bottom position, he knows nothing short of three points will be acceptable.
"If you look at their squad there are a lot of big, experienced players," he added. "Julio Cesar and Esteban Granero were good signings, as well as Ji-Sung Park. Their league position isn't great, but with players of that quality you can see them climbing the table.
"We'll go into the game with maximum focus, because the Norwich match showed that we can't afford to do anything but. I'm glad we have another home game and that there's no time to dwell on the last two results."
Jenkinson acknowledged Arsenal were poor in their last two games and deserved to come away with nothing. "We were aware Schalke were a good side but we could have prevented the goals we conceded," he said.
"The most disappointing thing is that in the last two games we haven't played as we can. We were playing so well before the break, but now we're on a downer. The good thing in football, though, is that you can bounce back straight away with this game against QPR."
The young defender is, however, convinced Arsenal are capable of putting behind the poor run and competing for top honors. "Everyone was angry and disappointed after the (Norwich)game, there's no hiding from that and I'm not going to tell you differently," Jenkinson said. "But there is spirit and belief in this squad and we've shown that when we play to our full potential we can beat anyone in the world.
"I genuinely believe that. It's just about finding the consistency and putting in the kind of performances we did at Liverpool and doing that week in, week out. If we can do that, we can go very far this season.
"It's just about finding the level of performance and having the fight and mentality to come out of the other side of this dip, and come out stronger."
