Arsenal vs Southampton: ‘It is a joy to coach them,’ Mikel Arteta praises his players following comeback draw

Despite gaining a point from the jaws of defeat, manager Mikel Arteta believes they could have won the game.

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta in a file photo; Credit: Twitter/@Arsenal
By Karthik Raman | Apr 22, 2023 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Arsenal produced an inspired late comeback to register a 3-3 draw against Southampton in the Premier League. The Gunners looked down and out at one point when they were 3-1 behind in the second half. However, the home side never gave up as they fought back impressively to secure a late draw. Despite gaining a point from the jaws of defeat, manager Mikel Arteta believes they could have won the game due to the number of chances they created throughout the game.

Even though they could not get the three points in the end, Arteta was happy with the fightback shown by his players against Southampton in the Premier League contest. Asked how he feels about the result, the manager, quoted by Arsenal.com, said in his post-match press conference, “Well at the end, empty obviously, because it was a very emotional game and I’m disappointed because we didn’t get the three points. After all that happened in the game I still believe that we deserved it, but we have to look in the mirror because we gave three really easy goals away and when you do that it’s extremely difficult to win in this league.”

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In the overall context though the draw does not help Arsenal much as it benefits second-placed Manchester City more. “They want it so much. For me personally, what I’ve experienced with not only the players but the staff and our supporters, it was incredible and I know how difficult it is. After one minute we made a big mistake to concede and then we made another mistake and it was 2-0,” stated Arteta.

I cannot love them more: Mikel Arteta

“You’re trying to just play and play and play against a team that is doing what they have to do because of where they are ,and after the first time they go past the halfway line they scored a third one and then it’s a big question mark of what you do as a team and what you do as an individual. The response of the players, I cannot love them more, honestly. It is a joy to coach them and it is a joy to be a part of this club and to experience what I have experienced with this team. At the end the magic moment was there to be taken, we had two big chances at 3-3 to score but today it didn’t happen unfortunately.”

Next up for Arsenal is a difficult trip to Etihad Stadium for a match against defending champions Manchester City. Ahead of that blockbuster tie, Arteta is happy with the spirit shown by his players. “I don’t see the lack of confidence when a team is able to do that [what we did tonight]. Normally the players start to hide in certain moments – I didn’t see a single player do that, they were willing to take risks, to take the initiative. That’s why we created the chances we created, that’s why we got back to 3-3 from 3-1 and should have won the game. So, the confidence is there, it’s those moments that we need to cut back. At this level, we cannot give away the goals that we have given. It’s as simple as that,” he added.





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