Mikel Arteta has sent the Arsenal players a warning about their second-half performance in the defeat to Brighton on Sunday, which all but gave Manchester City the Premier League title.
The Gunners had to win all of their last three Premier League games if they wanted a chance of winning their first league title in 19 years. However they stumbled at the first hurdle against Brighton at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday which handed Pep Guardiola’s side the trophy without any real pressure.
Arsenal were arguably the better team in the first-half, however the second-half was a complete different story as Brighton went up a gear and scored three goals to all but end the Gunners title hopes this season.
Mikel Arteta’s side were outplayed, outclassed and outfought in the second-half and Brighton were deserving winners come the full-time whistle. In a game with so much on the line, the Arsenal players went out on a wimp and Mikel Arteta warned his team that the same can never be repeated in such a high-pressure game.
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“You cannot do what we did in the second half. If the team is capable of doing that when it comes to the biggest stage there are a lot of things we have to think about and analyse.”
“After today it’s impossible to think about the title. We need to digest the result and the performance in the second half, understand why and have a different reaction.”
Midfielder Martin Odegaard also admitted it feels as though there is ‘no hope’ of returning to the top of the table this season, all but accepting defeat in the title race.
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