Mikel Arteta says Arsenal’s players were “fuming” after their 3-1 defeat to Real Betis, with the manager encouraged by the strength of the reaction inside the dressing room.
Arsenal endured a difficult night in Dublin as Betis punished several defensive mistakes during the first half. Rodrigo Riquelme, Nelson Deossa and Pablo Fornals scored for the Spanish side, with Piero Hincapié providing Arsenal’s only response.
Speaking afterwards, Arteta admitted his players were “very upset” but suggested that frustration could serve a purpose as preparations for the new season intensify.
🔴⚪️ Mikel Arteta: “We’re going to go and attack every trophy, that’s the ambition”.
“All the work that I’ve done in the summer is to understand what we need to do to win again & create a DYNASTY at this football club, that’s the aim”. pic.twitter.com/J6qPA9v7NU
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 6, 2026
The result itself carries little weight in pre-season, but the manner of Arsenal’s first-half defending will concern Arteta.
A relatively experienced back line was repeatedly exposed by errors, despite Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Hincapié and Riccardo Calafiori all featuring. Viktor Gyökeres, Kai Havertz and Christos Tzolis also started further forward.
Arsenal are still operating without several important players. Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke were unavailable after their World Cup involvement, while Martin Ødegaard has only recently resumed individual work.
That context matters, but Arteta now has only three warm-up fixtures before competitive football begins.
ReadArsenal previously examined the pressure created by Arsenal’s compressed pre-season schedule. Borussia Dortmund visit the Emirates on Sunday before Como and the Community Shield against Manchester City follow in quick succession.
There was also a more serious concern in Dublin.
Academy midfielder Louie Copley suffered a knee injury shortly after coming on, with Arteta admitting the mechanism of the injury did not look encouraging. The 19-year-old is due to undergo a scan before Arsenal know the full extent of the problem.
For Arteta, the priority now is turning the anger from Wednesday night into a sharper performance against Dortmund.
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