Mikel Arteta Arsenal
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has insisted that his side were “10 times better” against Fulham this season than they were last, despite falling to a 2-2 draw. The Gunners weren’t at their usual best in north London, yet looked on course to record their third straight Premier League win of the season. Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah had scored in a matter of two minutes to put Arteta’s side 2-1 ahead, but Joao Palhinha levelled the scoring in the 87th minute to share the points. After the game, Arteta claimed that his side could have won the game, if they took their chances.
Mikel Arteta said: “Obviously when in the first minute you make the mistake we made and give a goal to the opponent, the game becomes much more difficult. The reaction straight after that, even in the first half, the situations and chances we generated, we didn’t give anything away. We controlled the game for full periods but we didn’t score the goal. In the second half we made some changes, the dynamic changed, we had better relationships. The subs made a huge difference, great impact, I loved the determination and the confidence that they brought to the team. We made the most difficult thing, go 2-1 up. Then you have to defend the box with your life, you cannot concede a goal after everything we did. We should have scored five, six, seven, I don’t know.”
Arteta also insisted that his side were better against Fulham this time around than they were when they defeated their London rivals last August. Gabriel Magalhaes’ 85th minute winner meant the Gunners came from 1-0 down to seal all three points, but Arteta believes there was a better performance this year. Asked if it’ll take time for the Gunners to be as fluid as last season,
Mikel Arteta said: “If I compare the game we played against Fulham this season and last season, we were 10 times better this season. At least 10. We were much better than last season. 10 times at least. Last season we won 2-1 in the last minute, today we draw 2-2.”
