Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has the trust that his side can still win the Premier League despite a downturn in form which has seen them drop from the summit of the league table.
The boss of the Gunners Mikel Arteta stressed that he now has “more belief” that his side can achieve their aim of winning the Premier League, even though they lost their grip after losing to Manchester City 1-3 on Wednesday night.
Arsenal dropped a massive three points to the Cityzens on their home turf, after a hard-fought performance from Manchester City coupled with some defensive capitulations from the North London side.
Mikel Arteta speaking after the encounter on Wednesday said: “They still have it (the belief) , I can sense it. They feel they can do it.”
Arsenal haven’t won any match since defeating Manchester United
Since defeating Manchester United at the Emirates stadium on the 22nd of January, 2022 Arsenal went five points ahead from their nearest challenger in Manchester City with a game in hand. However, they have only gathered just one point from a possible nine (9) since then.
In an encounter that was set to be breathtaking due to the weight of the clash, Kelvin De Bruyne opened the floodgates of goals after hitting an irresistible shot beyond Aron Ramsdale in goal for Arsenal.
The goal by the Belgian came off a defensive error by Takehiro Tomiyasu with Kevin De Bruyne pouncing on it magnificently.
Bukayo Saka brought the game back to parity from the penalty spot after placing cheeky Ederson in the opposite direction following a foul from Ederson on Eddie Nketiah.
Jack Grealish took Manchester City ahead in the second half before Erling Haaland completed the job giving Manchester City a 1-3 victory against Arsenal.
The comments of Mikel Arteta in a post match interview
Arteta speaking with BBC Sport after the game said: “I have more belief than I had before the game, With the performance and the level the team put in, we had the feeling we could beat them. Until the second goal we had them.
“But we gave them three goals and the game at the end. Certain errors at this level, you can’t make. At the same time, the team put the level very high.
“The difference was in the boxes, they had three chances and they put them away. We had chances and we didn’t put them away.”
The Spaniard continued his assertions in a post match interview with Amazon Prime as he expressed his disappointment with the loss.
He said: “They City are the best team in the world and we matched that level. After it is just about doing certain things better to beat them.
“I have more belief to win the league because I see a team going head-to-head with them. You have to go to the next one and in three days we have another game. I have more belief in my players.”
Odegaard’s comment on Arsenal’s profligacy
Team captain and Norwegian midfielder Martin Odegaard, corroborated the thought of Arteta that the Gunners need to be more potent upfront as only one (1) of their ten (10) shots were on target.
Odegaard said: “We were not sharp enough, in front of the goal and in our own as well. Sometimes chances go in, sometimes not. But that is where we need to improve and be more clinical and defend our box,” the Norwegian said.
“As we have said all season, work hard and take it game by game. It is the same now. It is one game we have lost here today and now we look to the next one.”
The season is a long marathon and there are lots of games still to play, it would be fascinating to see who adorns the garment of greatness on the crowning day.
