Viktor Gyokeres insisted Arsenal would be “even more motivated” in their title pursuit after defeat in the Carabao Cup final.
Gyokeres vows to bounce back from defeat at Wembley
The Gunners’ quadruple hopes were ended on Sunday as they were beaten 2-0 by Manchester City – their nearest challengers in the Premier League – at Wembley.
The result could give City energy in their bid to claw back Arsenal’s nine-point lead at the top of the league table but Gyokeres is confident the setback will sharpen his side’s focus.
The Arsenal forward said: “Of course we don’t feel great right now but it’s not like we have another game in three days. It’s a few weeks until the next one.
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“For sure we’ll go again and be even more motivated for those games coming up.”
Arsenal are next in action at Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals on April 4. They then have a Champions League last-eight trip to Sporting Lisbon before their Premier League campaign resumes at home to Bournemouth on April 11.
They face City in a potentially-pivotal clash at the Etihad Stadium on April 19.
Aside from a bright opening period, Arsenal were second best to City at Wembley.
Pep Guardiola’s side took firm control in the second half and secured victory with two headers from Nico O’Reilly in quick succession after an hour.
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Arsenal suffered defeat in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.
“I think we started quite well,” said Gyokeres. “I think we created some OK chances in the beginning of the game and then it was maybe 10 minutes from the break when they got the momentum.
“I think they had the ball, maybe didn’t create so many dangerous chances, but they had the ball for a long time and it looked the same in the second half.
“Playing top teams, it can be like that. From the moment of the game when they scored it was difficult to get back afterwards.”
Arsenal considering cancelling Hincapie deal with Arteta fuming
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Perhaps no one in the Arsenal side had a more miserable Sunday afternoon than defender Piero Hincapie, who was run ragged by Antoine Semenyo and withdrawn after an hour.
His replacement, Riccardo Calafiori, immediately added more control down the Gunners' left side and even struck the post.
Despite labelling the 24 year-old a "warrior" in the past, Arteta was fuming at the performance of the £65,000-a-week Ecuador international, and the club are even considering whether go ahead with their £45m option to buy him outright this summer, Football FanCast sources understand.
There are said to be questions over his ability to dislodge Calafiori from the starting position, while the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly has created somewhat of a headache for the manager.
Bayer Leverkusen are still expecting the deal to go ahead, but if the Gunners were to pull out they would opt to pursure a more recognised central defender to provide depth behind Gabriel and William Saliba, who picked up an injury in the cup final.
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The Gunners have bigger fish to fry but now face an anxious wait.