**Mikel Arteta** was disappointed with **Arsenal’s** 3-1 defeat to LaLiga side Real Betis in Dublin, as preparations for the 2026/27 season continued.
It was the Gunners' second game of pre-season, having thumped Girona 4-1 just a few days prior.
How Betis took control in Dublin
--------------------------------
**Rodrigo Riquelme** tapped in from close range after **Kepa Arrizabalaga** missed the ball from a corner to give Betis the lead. **Nelson Deossa’s** long-range strike doubled their advantage, and although the English Champions got a goal back through a header from **Piero Hincapié**, **Pablo Fornals** sealed the win with a low driving effort.
Arteta pinpoints costly errors as a key reason for the defeat
-------------------------------------------------------------
Reflecting on the Gunners' performance, Arteta believed his side showed good moments, but also made a few avoidable errors for Los Verdiblancos' goals.
_"I'm disappointed with the result, obviously, because we are here to win football matches.”_
_“We had some fantastic moments in the first half, the way we played, the way we opened them up. We have to score first, clearly, in the two chances that we had before the score._
_“I’m very disappointed in the manner that we conceded the first goal, the two giveaways leading to the other two goals._
_“It's true that the finishing quality from them was exceptional, but to win a football match, you have to compete at a different level, especially in those areas of the pitch, and that's the learning from today.”_
Using 25 players during the friendly
------------------------------------
Arsenal remained unchanged from the Girona win, but used the match to welcome back their Brazilian pair, **Gabriel Magalhães** and **Gabriel Martinelli**. Altogether, the Gunners used **25 players**. Arteta stressed the importance of being smart with minutes so early in the pre-season.
Gabriel and Gabriel Martinelli returned for the Gunners following their post-World Cup holiday (Photo By Tyler Miller/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
_“Yeah, that's a lot of players, and obviously you don't have that momentum and that rhythm, but we indeed have players coming in at different stages._
_“We cannot risk the play; we need to be really smart about how we're going to progress them, and the entire defeat is a good thing in pre-season to create even more fire in the belly.”_
Returning to the Emirates
-------------------------
The Spaniard also praised the atmosphere the fans created in Dublin, and looked ahead to a pair of games back at the Emirates against **Borussia Dortmund** and **Como 1907**.
_“It was incredible the atmosphere that they created in the stadium, so thank you so much to all of them for coming and creating such an atmosphere in a pre-season match, and we are very thankful._
_“It's been 10 days away from home, so we’re looking forward to coming back, seeing some players as well. Martin_ \[Ødegaard\] _will be back, and then the English and Spanish internationals will be back soon as well.”_
_“So, we're going to start to have more and more players at the moment; we still miss a lot of them.”_