Mikel Arteta said he will not accept the mindset he saw from his Arsenal players against Aston Villa as the Gunners collapsed to a 3-0 home defeat in the Premier League.
The defeat left Arsenal in 11th place with just 12 points from eight games and four defeats already suffered. To rub salt into our wounds, Thomas Partey also picked up an injury.
Once again, we find ourselves with a negative goal difference (-1), we’ve yet to hit double figures for goals scored in the league (9) but at least we’re further from the bottom of the table (11 points to Sheffield United) than we are to the top (six to Leicester).
Asked if this result was just ‘one of those things’ that happens, the Arsenal boss couldn’t have been clearer with his answer. “Not for big teams,” Arteta told Arsenal.com. “Big teams can’t afford that. We cannot afford that. You win a football match, two football matches, three.
“We expect to win every game and this is the standard that we have to set. So if someone believes that winning one or two games is good enough, they’re completely wrong and I’m not going to accept that.
It's actually six hours and 26 minutes since Arsenal last scored a goal from open play in the Premier League.
— Orbinho (@Orbinho) November 8, 2020
“I’m not going to accept that mindset at all and it’s obviously not what this club deserves. It’s my full responsibility and now I have to find a way to do it.
“I think that since I arrived here, it’s the first time that I’ve felt that we performed really under our standards and what we are trying to set at this football club. It’s unacceptable.
“I would like to have a game tomorrow morning to get this one out of the system. But as well, in difficult and bad moments, you get a lot of things. I want to see how people react, how players react and if we start to blame each other or if we just look at ourselves in the mirror and then try to become much better than what we’ve shown tonight, which we are.
“Then, after that, get everybody back together and get the fighting spirit, the belief and the commitment that we’ve shown since I got here, into every game.”
Speaking after the game, Arsenal fan and scorer of two of Villa’s goals, Ollie Watkins, said, “Most importantly we got the three points against a good side here. Unbelievable. We worked so hard.
“First half, from side to side. We know their game, they’re going to pass it and move it, we just had to cut off the lines into the midfield. I felt like we did that first half and second half it gave us the freedom to go and play.
“We’ve conceded quite a few goals the last couple of games, but it’s how we bounce back, and we’ve done that tonight. I’m loving it. Obviously there may be a bit of pressure. I’ve just got to get my head down, work hard, and that’s what I’m trying to do.
“Get goals, and thankfully it’s happening. I think there’s a lot to come [from us]. I think we’re very exciting and we can beat anyone.”