Mikel Arteta issues warning to his players after draw in Lisbon
Arteta furious as Arsenal settle with a draw against Sporting CP
Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta has issued a warning to his side as they drew 2-2 against Sporting CP in the Europa League. He insists that the Gunners must improve considerably if they have a major trophy to win this season.
Arsenal has an exceptionally solid defensive record this season. However, in the last ten games, the Gunners have kept just 2 clean sheets and conceded 12 goals. The Spanish manager warned his players that they cannot afford to continue making sloppy mistakes in defense.
Words from Mikel Arteta
“Considering that we conceded two goals away from home and you still come away with a draw, you have to take some positives,” Mikel Arteta said as he reflected on the draw.
“I think we conceded two very poor goals, we gave them hope, especially with a lot of giveaways and simple balls that we lost in our own half.
“There were other moments where we had total control of the game and we looked a threat but lacked a little bit of the capacity to punish them near the box. It’s true that we are lacking four of our main attacking players. Overall, it’s everything to play for and we have to play at the Emirates.
“Everything still to play for. Obviously, we play at home and we have to show that we are the better team and decide to win the game. “
He added, “We are conceding too many simple goals and we’ve talked about the importance of boxes, especially in a competition where you are in or out,” he explained. “Today we didn’t defend that well enough, and we have to do better up against our opponents.
“We’ve had a lot of really emotional games recently, and today we made a lot of changes, meaning that cohesion needs some time. You could feel that in the first 10-15 minutes that we needed some time to adapt and to click, but if we don’t expose them, that’s never going to happen.”
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