Arteta reveals true feelings after Arsenal held in late drama
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta shared his thoughts after his side were held to a 1-1 draw against Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.
City made a fast start, taking the lead inside ten minutes. Erling Haaland punished slack defending from Arsenal as he latched on to Tijani Reijnders’ through ball and finished calmly past David Raya.
The Gunners, however, pushed back strongly in search of a response. Their effort paid off deep into stoppage time, when substitute Gabriel Martinelli struck a dramatic equaliser.
It was the second straight match where the Brazilian stepped up for Arsenal, after scoring off the bench against Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League.
His finish came after a long spell of dominance and pressure from the home side.
Arteta praises performance but rues missed chance
Speaking to Sky Sports after the final whistle, Arteta admitted he was proud of his players but unhappy with the outcome.
“I’m very proud of the team. I must say, the way we played, we dominated them and I’m very disappointed with the result.”
The Spaniard stressed that his side started the match brightly and had City on the back foot for large spells. However, he revealed that one messy phase of play was the reason Arsenal fell behind.
“We started incredibly well. So dominant again. We were playing in their half, and we did not allow them to breathe. But in one action, that was very chaotic, because the ball bounces.”
Gunners look ahead to next fixture
Arteta reflected on the build-up to City’s goal, admitting Arsenal failed to deal with a key moment and were punished.
“It’s a duel there, we lose it, and suddenly find themselves to be true in open spaces. And they are lethal there, and they finish the action with the quality that they have.”
He added that his players needed to reset mentally after conceding, as the timing of the goal was difficult to take.
“After that, we had our five shaky minutes that we have to reset mentally because it was so unfair to concede a goal with what we were doing, and after that, we just completely dominated the game again.”
Arsenal will now turn their focus to the EFL Cup, where they face League One side Port Vale. The Gunners currently sit second in the Premier League table, just behind leaders Liverpool.
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