Mikel Arteta admits that Arsenal were well beaten by Manchester City – but says the loss has only made his players hungrier for the Premier League title.
The North London side lost 3-1 at home to their title rivals on Wednesday as City’s experience in high-pressure scenarios shone through at the Emirates.
Kevin De Bruyne capitalised on Tomiyasu’s mistake to open the scoring before Bukayo Saka equalised from the penalty spot before half-time.
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Arsenal had almost two-thirds of possession in the game but Jack Grealish inflicted a huge blow by restoring Man City’s lead and Haaland secured all three points in the closing stages.
The result extended Arsenal’s winless run to four matches in all competitions as City – who have played one game more – leapfrogged them in the league table.
Arteta reflected on his side’s display on Thursday, ahead of their trip to Aston Villa. He said: “You have to give credit to a team when they beat you but, for sure, when you analyse the game again, I think that we lost it.”
The Arsenal boss explained that watching the loss to City back with his players provided him with “more clarity”. And when asked if it had made the team more motivated to get back to winning ways, he declared: “Yes, I think so.”
The Gunners are in the midst of a turnaround, having kicked off against City at 7:30pm before travelling to Villa for Saturday’s game. Arteta is refusing to be daunted by the fixture schedule, saying his players will operate with “full energy” at Villa Park.
“No worry, we have to play,” Arteta replied when asked if he was worried about the workload. “I want the players to be in the best possible mindset and physically ready to get that challenge going. The Gunners boss added: “They are young! They have a lot of energy.”
Arteta also said he expects to face a compact Villa set-up. “16 low blocks we have faced this season,” he said. “We have won a lot of those games. We have merited at the end to win most of those games.
“Then, it’s about efficiency. When they block everything and the ball doesn’t go in the net, it’s great [for them]. If you win 2-0, then you attacked the low block really well.
“[There will] always be assessment there, there are always things we have to improve and our efficiency in the box hasn’t been as good as when we were winning football matches. Tomorrow, it will have to be really high to beat them.”
