EPL: Mikel Arteta apologises to Arsenal fans after Gunners virtually knocked out of title race (WATCH)
EPL: Arsenal was virtually knocked out of the title race following a brutal 0-3 demolition by Brighton and Hove Albion at home on Sunday. Meanwhile, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has apologised to the club fans.
FollowEnglish giant Arsenal was virtually knocked out of the race to win its first English Premier League (EPL) title in 17 years after it was brutally hammered 0-3 by sixth-placed Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium in London. The flop for the hosts meant that defending champion Manchester City is just a conquest away from retaining its crown for the third time.
In the meantime, following the upset, Gunners head coach Mikel Arteta was frustrated at his boys’ lack of show, as he apologised to the club fans. “A different feeling to the feeling we all had last Sunday [at Newcastle] when we felt proud and did what we needed to win in certain moments. Today [Sunday] is completely the opposite,” he said.
“We must apologise to our people, especially for the second half. I must first accept what happened in the second half and digest it. After that, until it’s mathematically over, the second position is secure. That’s not going to change. We have to digest, which will take a few days,” added Arteta.
“At the moment, it’s just frustration. The feeling that we gave the game away in the second half. We fought hard to be in the position we are in, and today [Sunday], we were in a critical moment to keep hoping and digging for that dream. You cannot do what we did in the second half when you have to play in these moments. Then we have to look. If a team can do that in the biggest stage, there’s a lot of things to analyse and think about because it cannot happen,” he further stated.
Arteta further recalled Arsenal’s performance this season and noted, “Obviously what the team has done over the last ten months is very different to what anybody expected, and that generates a lot of expectation as well enthusiasm, happiness and joy. That has to be managed correctly, and after we have the responsibility to make sure the team performs, I am responsible for that. So, I wouldn’t say I like letting people down when they are expecting something. That’s my biggest regret today, and I must apologise.”
