Very frustrated at how we threw the game away, admits Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta was appointed as Arsenal's manager in December 2019
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Mikel Arteta admitted that Arsenalās loss to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday was āunacceptableā and that he was frustrated at how his side threw away the game after taking the lead. This was Arsenalās second consecutive loss since the Premier League's restart following the Covid-19 break.
Arsenalās campaign has officially gone haywire as the Gunners slumped to yet another defeat in the Premier League, having lost to Brighton and Hove AlbionĀ on Saturday.Ā Nicolas Pepe scored a stunner to put the visitors ahead in the 68th minute, but Lewis Dunk equalized seven minutes later from what looked like an own goal by Rob Holding. The Gunners did look the better side both before and after Brighton scored but simply failed to put away their chances.
However,Ā just when it looked like the Gunners were going to escape with an away point, Neal Maupay netted the winner in the 95th minute to ensure that Brighton walked away with all three points. Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta was furious with the way his team threw away the game.
"I know we have a young squad but we threw the game away. I am very frustrated. It is unacceptable the way we lost the game. We had to put it to bed earlier. At this level you cannot give those sort of goals away. There's a lot of things they have gone really well but we don't compete,ā said Mikel Arteta, following Arsenalās loss, as reported by BBC.
"At this level you cannot give those sort of goals away. This is the challenge we all have at the football club, to rebuild to something that is worth the club we are representing. I just worry about tomorrow and lifting the players and winning the next football game."
Arsenal was hoping to resume their campaign on a high after the Covid-19 break and finish at the top four, but as things stand, they are unlikely to make the final cut for the top four or even the top six this season. To make things even worse, goalkeeper Bernd Leno suffered a serious injury after an aerial duel with Neal Maupay and Arteta confirmed that it doesn't look good for the German international.
"I donāt know. Itās too far from me. I havenāt seen the action (Maupay's challenge on Leno). I always believe players never mean to hurt anybody. I think it was very unfortunate. I don't think he wanted to hurt him, but it is not looking good [for Leno]," Arteta added.
