Quotes

Arteta - We didn't take the defining moments

There was a key three-minute spell early in the second half of Wednesday's game that ultimately went a long way to determining the outcome.

First Gabriel Martinelli embarked on a magical run on the left wing, beating three players, only for his cutback to fall to a yellow shirt.

Then Martin Odegaard saw his shot saved at close range by Alisson after a loose backpass presented the ball to Alexandre Lacazette.

The misses proved costly. Within moments Liverpool opened the scoring through Diogo Jota, and once ahead, they didn't look back.

After the game Mikel Arteta was left to rue those close margins.

Probably we were the better team in many parts of the game, but when the defining moments were there for the taking, we have to take them, and we haven’t," he told Arsenal Media at full-time.

"That was the difference in the game.

"We kept trying, we believed. The way they executed the game plan was phenomenal.

“The courage and the energy that they showed. How they competed against this phenomenal Liverpool team was great to watch, but we're disappointed because we didn't get anything from the game.

"When you have those moments you have to score if you want to win against those teams."