Sport nationMikel Arteta rues three factors which cost Arsenal victory against Tottenham
Arsenal let their lead slip twice in Sunday’s North London Derby as Son Heung-min struck a brace to earn a point for Tottenham after the hosts had missed chances to put the game to bed
Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal “lacked composure” as he rued missed chances and costly errors for his side throwing away the lead twice to draw with Tottenham in the North London Derby.
Arsenal twice had their noses in front through Cristian Romero’s own goal and Bukayo Saka’s penalty, but were quickly pegged back as Son Heung-min fired a brace to earn Spurs a point at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners had a glaring opportunity to go two-up in the first half, too, when Gabriel Jesus blazed over after he had dispossessed James Maddison in the box.
Saka’s spot-kick shortly after half-time looked to have put the hosts back in command, but a poor error from Jorginho a minute later gifted possession to Maddison, who raced away before feeding the ball through to Son to score his second and leave Arteta cursing Arsenal’s wastefulness.
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Speaking in his post-match press conference, Arteta said: “We are very disappointed not to earn the three points, that’s for sure. Especially when you go in front twice in the game and have the opportunity to win it.
“Especially the moments that we conceded the goals. We had control of the game, could have made it 2-0 with Gabi (Jesus) and then you concede the goal and you have to bounce back. We did and scored the goal but it’s a shame that within a minute you concede the other one.
“I think that affected the team emotionally quite a lot and we lacked some composure to make more passes in the final third. It became a more transitional game that is a risky one to play against them. We pushed in the last 15-20 minutes but we lacked the quality in the final pass to win the game.”
Gabriel Jesus skies his shot over the crossbar in a glaring miss which come back to bite Arsenal
Gabriel Jesus skies his shot over the crossbar in a glaring miss which come back to bite Arsenal ( Image: AFP via Getty Images)
HAVE YOUR SAY: Where will Arsenal finish in the table this season? Let us know in the comments below.
Tottenham’s first goal could also have been avoided. Arsenal’s new No.1 David Raya flapped at a cross rather than tip it over, allowing Brennan Johnson a chance to equalise. Raya recovered to save, but Arsenal failed to clear as Maddison then turned Saka too easily before cutting back for Son to sweep the ball in off the post.
Arsenal were back in front shortly after half-time when Ben White’s shot deflected off Maddison’s boot onto the arm of Romero inside the box. Referee Robert Jones didn’t award a penalty initially but changed his mind after reviewing the pitchside monitor before Saka stuck the spot kick away.
It was the second deflection Romero had been victim to, after Saka’s shot in the first-half cannoned off his knee past Guglielmo Vicario to break the deadlock. But Arsenal’s second lead was similarly short-lived, as Jorginho dallied in possession a minute later and Maddison pounced for the clinical Son to capitalise.
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Arteta conceded: “In big games both boxes are so important and you have to put those chances away. We didn’t and we also had some errors like the one we concede (from).
“Then it becomes difficult to win but the effort, energy and attitude the boys put in was phenomenal. Today we lacked a certain composure on the ball to be more dominant, get set and get a structure in the game that we needed against a really good Spurs side.”
Mikel Arteta rues three factors which cost Arsenal victory against Tottenham
Arsenal let their lead slip twice in Sunday’s North London Derby as Son Heung-min struck a brace to earn a point for Tottenham after the hosts had missed chances to put the game to bed
Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal “lacked composure” as he rued missed chances and costly errors for his side throwing away the lead twice to draw with Tottenham in the North London Derby.
Arsenal twice had their noses in front through Cristian Romero’s own goal and Bukayo Saka’s penalty, but were quickly pegged back as Son Heung-min fired a brace to earn Spurs a point at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners had a glaring opportunity to go two-up in the first half, too, when Gabriel Jesus blazed over after he had dispossessed James Maddison in the box.
Saka’s spot-kick shortly after half-time looked to have put the hosts back in command, but a poor error from Jorginho a minute later gifted possession to Maddison, who raced away before feeding the ball through to Son to score his second and leave Arteta cursing Arsenal’s wastefulness.
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Speaking in his post-match press conference, Arteta said: “We are very disappointed not to earn the three points, that’s for sure. Especially when you go in front twice in the game and have the opportunity to win it.
“Especially the moments that we conceded the goals. We had control of the game, could have made it 2-0 with Gabi (Jesus) and then you concede the goal and you have to bounce back. We did and scored the goal but it’s a shame that within a minute you concede the other one.
“I think that affected the team emotionally quite a lot and we lacked some composure to make more passes in the final third. It became a more transitional game that is a risky one to play against them. We pushed in the last 15-20 minutes but we lacked the quality in the final pass to win the game.”
Gabriel Jesus skies his shot over the crossbar in a glaring miss which come back to bite Arsenal
Gabriel Jesus skies his shot over the crossbar in a glaring miss which come back to bite Arsenal ( Image: AFP via Getty Images)
HAVE YOUR SAY: Where will Arsenal finish in the table this season? Let us know in the comments below.
Tottenham’s first goal could also have been avoided. Arsenal’s new No.1 David Raya flapped at a cross rather than tip it over, allowing Brennan Johnson a chance to equalise. Raya recovered to save, but Arsenal failed to clear as Maddison then turned Saka too easily before cutting back for Son to sweep the ball in off the post.
Arsenal were back in front shortly after half-time when Ben White’s shot deflected off Maddison’s boot onto the arm of Romero inside the box. Referee Robert Jones didn’t award a penalty initially but changed his mind after reviewing the pitchside monitor before Saka stuck the spot kick away.
It was the second deflection Romero had been victim to, after Saka’s shot in the first-half cannoned off his knee past Guglielmo Vicario to break the deadlock. But Arsenal’s second lead was similarly short-lived, as Jorginho dallied in possession a minute later and Maddison pounced for the clinical Son to capitalise.
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Watch the Premier League, Champions League and more
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£29.99 a month and get access to discovery+ Premium at no extra costTNT SPORTS
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Arteta conceded: “In big games both boxes are so important and you have to put those chances away. We didn’t and we also had some errors like the one we concede (from).
“Then it becomes difficult to win but the effort, energy and attitude the boys put in was phenomenal. Today we lacked a certain composure on the ball to be more dominant, get set and get a structure in the game that we needed against a really good Spurs side.”
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Amina Umar