Mikel Arteta reacted after bottling their chance of winning the English Premier League title following a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, 20th of May.
Arsenal were crushed by Nottingham Forest on matchday 37, a defeat that handed Manchester City the Premier League title for the fifth time in the past six seasons.
It was Arsenal’s third loss in five matches for Mikel Arteta’s team, who have stumbled over the finish line amid the relentless tension that has been put on them by Pep Guardiola and his men over the past couple of months.
After the match, Mikel Arteta was asked how he felt, he said: “today is painful. I’m extremely sad. We’re here to win, I want to win, I love winning, I love what everyone does at this club to win”.
He added, “When you don’t get there it’s painful. This is how I feel today. I value a lot what the players have done yes, but when you are there, the next step is you have to win. We fell short”.
Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal in brief;
Arsenal was the favorite to win the match as they hoped to bounce back from their home defeat at the hand of Brighton & Hove Albion last week.
But the result was surprising as Nottingham Forest secures a victory over Mikel Arteta and his men to escape relegation.
When Martin Odegaard handed the ball away in the center of the field, the home team scored. After being played in on goal, Taiwo Awoniyi lifted his shot over Aaron Ramsdale despite Gabriel Magalhaes’s best efforts to block it.
Many first-half opportunities fell to Gabriel Jesus, who missed a golden opportunity to score by heading wide of the far post. At the break, Arsenal continued to dominate, but they were unable to score.
Arsenal dominated possession in the second half, but they struggled to create scoring opportunities. Jorginho had an attempt to go wide, while Gabriel Jesus was finding it difficult to break through the well-organized Forest defense.
The Gunners had a lot of possession but were unable to score. Forest won the game, effectively extending their season in Premier League, while Arsenal’s title aspirations withered away and Manchester City were proclaimed champions.
What’s next for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal?
Arsenal will host Wolverhampton Wanderers in their last game of the season at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, 28th of May, as they will be looking forward to ending their 2022/23 campaign on a high note.
Who’s Mikel Arteta?
Mikel Arteta Amatriain is the manager of the English Premier League club Arsenal. He is a former professional football player from Spain.
Mikel Arteta’s age;
Arteta was born on March 26, 1982, in San Sebastián, Spain.
Mikel Arteta career;
After starting his professional career with Barcelona in 1999, Arteta saw limited playing time and was loaned to Paris Saint-Germain in 2001, at the age of 18.
After his second year in France, he helped Paris Saint-Germain win the UEFA Intertoto Cup and was rewarded with a transfer to the Scottish club Rangers for an estimated £6 million.
After Arteta scored a penalty in the 93rd minute against Dunfermline Athletic, his team won the Scottish Premier League and Scottish League Cup in his first season at the helm, edging out Celtic in the league title game on goal differential.
In 2005, Arteta made a temporary move to English club Everton from his native Spain’s Real Sociedad.
Arteta won the Player of the Season title twice during his time at Everton and became an integral part of the club’s success during that time.
Arteta signed for Arsenal in 2011 for a reported £10 million. After being elected captain of the team in 2014, he went on to lead them to two FA Cup victories. After many years of service, he finally retired in 2016.
Arteta was a member of Spain’s junior and under-21 national teams, but he was never called up to the senior squad. Though he never represented his country at the senior level, many consider him to be a top performer of this century.
After hanging up his cleats, he became a member of Pep Guardiola’s coaching team at Manchester City.
He returned to Arsenal in 2019 and won the FA Cup with his new team, hence the club promoted him to manager in September 2020.
