Following our 3-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, Mikel Arteta headed to the Emirates Stadium press room to speak to the media.
He was asked about the performance, the title race, his emotions, Gabriel Martinelli's injury and more.
Here is everything he had to say:
On his assessment of the game…
A really different feeling to the one we all had after last Sunday, when we felt proud and that we did what it takes to win in certain moments. Today is completely the opposite, today we have to apologise to our people, especially for the performance that we had in the second half.
On accepting whether the title race is over…
What I have to accept first is what happened in that second half, digest it, individually I look at what we have to do very differently for the next match and after that until mathematically it’s over, the second position is secured, that’s not going to change. But we have to digest and that’s going to take a few days
On whether there was a foul on Kiwior for the first goal…
I don’t know we’re not going to change that, the first half was a very competitive first half we expected that, a lot of interruptions, there were 30 fouls in the game, they had no flow, we have some big moments especially when we were getting the ball really high up the pitch, there are situations we should have done much better and when they propose again like that, you have to capitalise very quickly in those moments and we didn’t, and in the second half the moment we lost certain runners, we started to lost a lot of duels in our last line, conceding two very, very poor goals, we had no answers to that. That’s the reality after the second ball, we had no answers to that and I am responsible for that.
On whether the result for Man City against Everton had an impact on our performance…
I don’t know, but this can not be the way to justify what happened in the second half, in the first half it didn’t happen, it was very interrupted and a lack of flow, and it was a lot of duels because it was a man to man game, but in the second half we lost certain things, we lost focus, we lost pairs and it became a really dangerous game to play.
On if the team has run out of steam…
No, I think we had the highest running stats in the league, I don’t think that is the case, today I think individually we were below par.
On his emotions following today’s defeat…
At the moment it’s just frustration, the feeling that we gave the game away in the second half and we fought really hard to be the position that we are and today was a critical moment to keep hoping and keep digging for that dream and when you have to play in these moments you can not do what we did in the second half, and then we have to look if the team capable of doing that when it comes to the biggest stage, it’s a lot of things we have to analyse and think about because it can not happen.
On Gabriel Martinelli’s injury…
We don’t know, he’s in a boot at the moment. It was very uncomfortable for him to walk, he couldn’t carry on playing - so obviously we need to scan him and see the extent of that injury.
On if this season has given him more conviction and hope for the future…
In a sense, yes. But with the level that is required to fight for the Premier League the way we want to fight and to be in the Champions League, and fight in the way that we have to fight in the Champions League, it’s a lot to think about.
On accepting that our young team have been pushed to the limit…
I don’t know. I am responsible for what happened today. My job is to get the best out of every single individual that we have in our hands and if we have to take it in the last four-and-a-half months, I will have to. I have tried to do that with the best ability but today, obviously, I didn’t do it.
On if Mikel’s thinking has changed when looking forward to next season..
My thinking is exactly the same. Obviously, what the team has done over the last 10 months is very different to what anybody expected. That generates a lot of expectations as well. It generates enthusiasm, happiness, joy and looking that we have to do that, and that’s something that has to be managed in the right way. And after we have the responsibility to make sure the team performs like that, and I have the maximum responsibility to do that. So, I hate the feeling of letting people down when they are really expecting something, and doing that, and that’s the biggest regret I have today. We have to apologise for that.
On what conceding 25 goals at home can be put down to…
Many different factors. When you look at the goals that we have conceded today, it’s too simple.
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