Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wants his team to use the pain of a costly draw with Wolves to fuel their north London derby performance against Tottenham.
MIKEL Arteta has urged his faltering Arsenal side to harness the “pain” of their shock draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers for Sunday’s crucial north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.
The Premier League leaders squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with bottom club Wolves at Molineux on Wednesday. Bukayo Saka and Piero Hincapie had put the Gunners in command before Hugo Bueno and Tom Edozie struck back for the hosts.
The result leaves Arsenal just five points clear of second-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand. It was the second consecutive match where Arsenal dropped points, following a draw with Brentford, meaning they have won only twice in their last seven league outings.
Arteta defended his players’ attitude but acknowledged the need for a reaction. “I’m going to be the first one to be close with them because it has nothing to do with attitude or desire, it is completely the opposite,” the manager said.
He attributed the collapse to rare defensive lapses at critical moments. “Where it could’ve gone wrong today, it went wrong. If you look at the way we conceded the two goals today without conceding any other situations, it is very rare but it happens.”
The Spaniard now wants his team to internalise their frustration ahead of the trip to Tottenham. “We need to go through the pain and go through it looking in the mirror and understand what the game requires now and the next action is Sunday. We need to keep all that in our tummies to show it on Sunday.”
Bukayo Saka echoed the disappointment, describing the dressing room mood as “pretty flat”. The England winger analysed a game of two halves for his side. “In the first half we started so well but in the second half we dropped the level and got punished for it,” he told Arsenal’s official website.
Saka emphasised that the title race remains in their hands despite the stumble. “It was already a big game and now it’s still a big game…It’s still in our control so we just need to focus on that, fix the issues we’re having now and get back to winning ways.”
Manchester City, who chased down Arsenal to win the title in both the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, loom large in the background. Their scheduled visit to the Emirates Stadium in April is already being touted as a potentially decisive fixture in the championship race.
The Sun Malaysia
