Town defender Luke Woolfenden felt the Blues limited Arsenal to very little following the 1-0 defeat to the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal dominated possession and had control of the contest but only produced 13 shots for their efforts, albeit Kai Havertz’s 23rd-minute goal proved to be enough for all three points.
Despite their respectable defensive display, Town fell to their fifth defeat in the last six matches and remain inside the relegation zone and three points from safety after their final away match of the calendar year.
But Woolfenden was pleased with how the Blues were able to stay in the game at 1-0 and not let the game get away from them as it did against Newcastle United at Portman Road last Saturday, despite the lack of attacking threat that saw them fail to register a single shot on target.
"It was a tough game,” he said. "One that we felt we were in the game for the majority of it. We had a good spell towards the end going for an equaliser.
"Again, we probably just let ourselves down in the moment and need to produce more when we have the ball and have more of an attacking threat.
"We’re always disappointed when we do concede. They’re a top team with top players and we limited them to not many chances.
"We obviously didn’t create much ourselves but we limited them to one or two – the goal being one and Gabriel’s header being the other. We always give ourselves a chance when you defend like that.
"We’ve got 11 players who are working so hard to keep the ball out of our net and keep the ball high up the pitch. It’s difficult to then regain that composure, we done it well with 20 minutes left but it probably took us too long to get to that stage.
"But the last 20 minutes is a positive – we kept the ball well and sustained attacks which is what we were looking to do.”
Asked whether the game went as he expected, Woolfenden added: "I think so. We knew they would do a lot of corner runs and do a lot from set pieces. To be fair it is what we planned for and I think we dealt with their set pieces quite well.
"They had the free header with Gabriel, but apart from that they didn’t really get much joy from set pieces. That was a good sign for us.”
Woolfenden was returning to the team for his first appearance in more than two months having not started any of the previous nine league matches.
Along with Jacob Greaves, the academy graduate was drafted in as part of a back three that sat deep in an attempt to give away fewer chances than in recent weeks.
"It’s always like that when you bring in new players and spend money on players,” the 25-year-old said. "They’re always going to get a slot in the team. It was just about waiting for the time and now it’s come around.
"I was pleased with my performance, I think the boss is pleased with my performance in there. We’ll see what happens next.
"The first three games of the season I think I played very well. The Fulham game I thought I was the best player on the pitch, so to come out after that was difficult.
"But the boss is good with stuff like that and he talks to you all the time. It’s just something you’ve got to swallow and see how it goes.
"It’s probably one of our strongest units in terms of fighting for positions. We’ve been in the majority of the games because we’ve not given up many chances. I know we defend as a whole team but a massive part of that is being in central defence.”
Woolfenden was also asked about Kalvin Phillips, another man returning to the team after an absence of his own since starting the Leicester City game in which he was sent off having subsequently suffered an ankle injury.
"Kalvin’s obviously a great player and has had a great career,” Woolfenden said of the Manchester City loanee. "He’s probably not played as much as he wanted to since he’s come here but you can see the quality that he’s got.
"He’s a great lad and it’s so important for us that he gets minutes under his belt. He grew into the game and was impressive towards the end.
"When your luck is like that it is going against you. I don’t think the red card was a red card at all, he was playing really well at that time and was probably one of our standout performers.
"It does take a while to get back into your rhythm when you have an injury and get suspended for something you shouldn’t have done. It’s important for us now that he stays fit and becomes a massive part of the team.
"Everyone can see his class. He goes to away grounds and the fans are on him because they know he’s class and can dictate a game and they’re trying to rattle him. That’s how you know he’s a good player.”
With one more match before the halfway stage of the season, the Blues remain inside the bottom three but are within touching distance from safety.
The final match of 2024 is a home game against title-chasing Chelsea at Portman Road on Monday night, another tough-looking assignment in what is a difficult month of fixtures for Kieran McKenna’s side.
On the overall picture, Woolfenden said: "We can be proud that we’ve been in every game and proud of the work-rate. It’s just that bit of feeling in the boys that we can push on and produce a bit more, especially in terms of attacking threats and sustaining attacks.
"We’re not a group that lacks belief anyway. We work hard every game and have been in every game this season, apart from the Newcastle one last week which we worked to rectify tonight.
"Performance-wise, it was okay and we’re looking to go again against Chelsea. It’s a step in the right direction, not a massive one but a little step.”