Mikel Arteta admits Arsenal ‘lacked quality’ in Manchester City home defeat and admits ‘we got something wrong’ after Raheem Sterling’s early header proved the difference
- Manchester City beat Arsenal 1-0 on Sunday evening with a dominant display
- Raheem Sterling headed-in the opener and the Gunners couldn’t respond
- Mikel Areta gave an honest view of the game, saying his side lacked something
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta gave an honest assessment of his defeated players after facing Manchester City, conceding the Gunners ‘got something wrong.’
Raheem Sterling‘s second minute goal was enough to sink the Gunners in a game that resembled a training exercise at time for Pep Guardiola‘s men – who sit 25 points above the north Londoners in the Premier League.
Having somewhat recovered from a disastrous start to the season, Arsenal have shown flashes of progress since early December. However, they find themselves in another slump, with only one win and three losses in five games.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admitted that the Gunners setup wrong for their Man City loss
Raheem Sterling was able to score a free-header inside two minutes to seize control on Sunday
Arteta admitted his team lacked the quality to take-on Pep Guardiola’s side at the Emirates
‘When we conceded the first goal it put us in a difficult situation,’ Arteta told Sky Sports.
‘It was tough. With the formation and the players they use they are really comfortable. After that the team reacted really well, were on top of the game and created chances but we lacked the quality in those situations to score the goal.
‘We got something wrong. We didn’t do it in the first 10 minutes. It’s a cross and Raheem Sterling cannot head a ball there. You cannot concede that goal. It was a tactical thing that we were prepared for but we didn’t read it in the game.
‘We got momentum and confidence and were really good on the ball as well. We found good spaces but when we were in the final third we didn’t pick the right pass to score a goal.
Arsenal have sunk into another difficult run of form, with their season already a write-off
‘We tried to use some weaknesses that we thought we could exploit. They don’t have many!’
The Gunners scored four in their last game against Leeds, with Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang bagging a hat-trick, but City’s defence proved too solid.
They’ll be hoping the skipper re-finds those shooting boots on Thursday, when the Gunners host Benfica for their Europa League second-leg with Benfica – with the score 1-1 after the first match.
