Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was left to bemoan his team’s defensive errors following their 3-1 loss to Manchester City on Wednesday.
Arsenal who entered the game as table leaders had proved a match for the defending champions, but their defensive errors proved costly, with Takehiro Tomiyasu and Gabriel Magalhães especially at fault.
For Man City’s opening goal, Tomiyasu through a back-pass gifted Kevin De Bruyne the ball who netted the opener while Gabriel was dispossessed as City regained the lead through Jack Grealish following Bukayo Saka’s equalizer.
Speaking after the game, Arteta said;
“It’s exceptionally difficult to play at the level they require you to play to have the chance to win and I think we’ve done it. In many moments, we had them.”But if you give three goals away the way we did, and just give them the game, and especially when you don’t put big chances away, then the margin for error with them is almost zero. It’s a shame because we really had them.”
That defeat demoted Arsenal to the second position in the table standings. Arsenal had held the top position since August, but with their recent drop in form, they have been made to descend. They have not won a Premier League game since beating Manchester United 3-2 in January.
Asked about their next plan, Arteta said;
“Just move on. Realize why we lost the game. And I think we lost it. And we have to move on because the performance was there in many situations.
“For our team to play at the level that we have to reach is very difficult and the boys did exceptionally well. The atmosphere was incredible and the shame is we didn’t get the points.
“In the end, the games are decided in the boxes. We have given too much away today and we weren’t ruthless enough to convert our chances. That’s what we have to improve.”
Arsenal play Aston Villa next in the League.
