Mikel Arteta spoke about bouncing back from defeat in the Carabao Cup final to Manchester City.
**Arsenal**had lost just 3 Premier League games all campaign before this blow at Wembley Stadium, but it marks another missed opportunity to earn a major honour for the first time since lifting the **FA Cup**trophy in August 2020. The Gunners must prepare to travel to the Etihad Stadium in about a month as they try to hold onto their nine-point lead at the top of the table, and they cannot allow this loss to affect their hopes for two other pieces of silverware: the Champions League and FA Cup.
“I wouldn't make it the mentality part of that, especially when you lose or draw again to go through that. I think it's too easy, that's my opinion. As I said before in the first half, there were some very, very good moments and we didn't capitalise on them in the second half.
“[Staying to watch the trophy lift] is something to show respect and they won the cup and I think you have to wait for that moment when they lift it and once they've done that and they're going to have their own celebration, I think we need to get out of the door and I think that's what we did.
“To have some perspective on it, what this team has done in the last eight months has been incredible and we're going to use this disappointment and this fire in the belly to have the most amazing two months that we have ever together and that's on us and we'll manage that energy in the right way.
“Now we have to go through that pain and disappointment and it's normal and it's part of football.
“We played 50 games today, so every time you have a defeat or a draw, if [the result having long term effects] is the consequence, you're not prepared to play 70 games because it's something that will happen at some point.
“We haven't allowed that to happen, we have to prove it, we have to do it again. The good thing is that we have a very recent history, how this team has reacted in those moments, and I'm sure we're going to do it again.”