Coach Arteta: 'Now is the time for Arsenal to prove their mettle'

After the 1-2 loss to Aston Villa, coach Arteta expressed disappointment, but at the same time said that this was the right time for Arsenal to prove their mettle as a championship candidate.

Coach Arteta believes this is the right time for Arsenal to prove their mettle - Photo: REUTERS

After nearly three months of unbeaten run, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal surprisingly suffered a 1-2 defeat to Aston Villa in round 15 of the Premier League. Despite being disappointed with the way the game ended, the Spanish coach affirmed that this was the most important moment for the "gunners" to prove their true character as a championship candidate.

Speaking after the match at Villa Park, coach Arteta expressed clear disappointment, especially about individual mistakes:

"We are extremely disappointed with the way we lost. In the first half, Arsenal had a lot of difficulties, especially losing the ball very uncharacteristically right after winning it back, which was very dangerous against the way Aston Villa played."

Arteta admitted Arsenal could have lost earlier because of two individual errors, but after equalising in the second half, he was confident his team would win again. However, a lightning attack from the opponent in the final minutes ended any hope.

The 43-year-old believes the results reflect the extreme harshness of the Premier League: "You go to Old Trafford, St James' Park, Stamford Bridge and then here, all difficult grounds. We're unbeaten in 18 games but everything is still very close. That's the level of this tournament."

Arteta stressed that the unbeaten run was not an excuse, despite the team being without three central defenders. Instead, he called on the team to turn defeat into motivation:

"The unbeaten run has to end at some point, we didn't want it to stop today. But now it's time to stand up. The players have given me every reason to believe we will come back strong."

He sees this defeat as an opportunity for the players to learn and show spirit: "A lot has happened in the past weeks, but the team still shows great attitude and spirit."

This defeat ended Arsenal's 18-match unbeaten streak in all competitions. However, the Gunners still hold the top spot with 33 points, but Man City have reduced the gap to 2 points.

Next week Arsenal will enter a busy period of the schedule with two important matches against Club Brugge in the Champions League on December 10, and then Wolves in the Premier League.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hlv-arteta-gio-la-luc-arsenal-chung-minh-ban-linh-20251207081906264.htm