Mikel Arteta has apologised to Arsenal supporters after his team’s 2-0 defeat to Brentford, saying it wasn’t ‘the result or performance’ he wanted.
The London side ended last campaign on a high with four successive wins but endured a disappointing return to top-flight action, with Sergi Canos & Norgaard netting in either half to fire the hosts to a win.
The Gunners were poor in attack in the absence of Aubameyang & Lacazette – who missed the game through illness – and struggled to cope with Brentford’s high press across a frustrating 90 minutes.
Smith Rowe and Kieran Tierney were the shining lights for Arsenal but the Bees held firm to seal the win, 74 years on from their last game in the Premier League.
‘First of all, thank you because of the support that they are giving to the team, the travelling fans that were here,’ Arteta told reporters at his post-match press conference.
‘And after that, I apologise for the result and we know that we have to improve. ‘We have two big games coming up right now and we need to a different performance to get a different result.’
The Spaniard added: ‘We are very disappointed to start the way we did in the season. ‘We didn’t get the result or performance that we wanted.’
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Arsenal have already spent over £70m on new signings Ben White, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares – and there will be calls for the club to strengthen the team even further after the defeat.
But Arteta stressed that he would not be hitting the panic button in the market and will instead be looking to get improvements out of his players.
‘My focus is with the players we have, try to make them play as best as possible and get the best out of the team and find a way to win football matches,’ he went on.
‘We are very clear of what we wanted to do, where our strengths are and where we can improve and I don’t think today’s performance shows anything different to what we’ve already seen.’
