Mikel Arteta reflected on a 2-1 defeat for Arsenal against Manchester City.
‘There is an element of luck’
The team have not won at the Etihad Stadium in over a decade, but they shook off the scars of previous seasons to fight fairly evenly across the 90 minutes. Kai Havertz successfully pressed Gianluigi Donnarumma to equalise moments after Rayan Cherki cracked the deadlock, and the defensive work of the visitors was creating plenty of problems for the Citizens before the break.
Though the tempo eased off following the restart, Havertz had a 1 v 1 opportunity smothered by the Italian shot stopper and Eberechi Eze smacked a strike off the post on the verge of the hour mark. Erling Haaland then scored, and efficiency from City in key moments made all the difference.
"The reality is in the two boxes today was a difference and that's what decided the game"
“Very upset with the result. We came here to win the game. I think the message was clear from three days before. We prepared to do that, to play the game to the areas that we believe we could win it.
“We certainly done that. Even though we started the game with a goal down and psychologically we had to play with that, we've done it. It proves that we are there, but the reality is in the two boxes today was a difference and that's what decided the game.
“The stats have been different for the profile of players that they have, we have available as well in certain areas, but the difference [of finishing] was 100 per cent.
“Every team has an identity because of the players and the manners that they have, and especially when you play against this opponent, you have to be very clear what you have to do and where you want to play the game. I think that we've done that really, really well.
“We hit the post and I just look at the images, it’s incredible how the ball doesn't go in. So, there is an element of luck. There is an element there of timing, of execution. There's a lot of things that have to be your way. They didn't go our way, and we have to recognise that.
“At the end, winning and not winning is going to come down to these moments. And there are certain individual moments that you need in order to achieve what we want. That's for sure.
“[The players] were very disappointed not to get a result from the game in the manner it happened. That's the feeling immediately you could say that they were talking about and they said, ‘OK, we lost an opportunity today, but we have the biggest one now in the next five games, so let's do it.’”
‘We have another five to go’
A month ago, the Gunners were nine points clear at the top of the Premier League, in both domestic cup competitions, with a Wembley Stadium final on the horizon, and in the Champions League quarterfinals. Now, they have lost the Carabao Cup final to the Citizens, suffered a FA Cup exit against Southampton, and are only three points ahead of City, who also have a game in hand.
To win a major honour, Arsenal are either going to have to rewrite their history in continental competition or maximise their points in their last five league fixtures against a resurgent City.
“I believe today, I believe on Wednesday a week ago, because I see them every day and I know the level that we have. But today, if they need to be more convinced, I think they are now more convinced.
*“Let's see what happens. It's the Premier League. First of all, to win a game in this league, it's extremely tough. I mean, the fixtures that we both have, it's going to be tough for both of them. You know, we would have already 80 points or 85 points like happened in other seasons. This is not the case. So yeah, we will prepare game by game and learn from what happened today and do better.*
*“If I have to pick the players to win the Premier League with five games to go in our hands and be in the semi-final of the Champions League, I think I should be at home. So, it's not the case. It's not needed. It's never been needed, even in difficult moments. So, we go again, that's for sure.*
“We lost an opportunity today to win, I think we used the opportunity to show what we are made of, and how we're going to compete and the level of the team. We have another five to go, so it's a new Premier League now, they have a game in hand, and we have three points in hand - so, game on."