Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has blasted the “unacceptable” performance from his players after they were thrashed 3-0 at home by Brighton to all but end their hopes of winning the Premier League title. The Gunners were far from their best in front of their own fans and Arteta apologised for a woeful display from his players, pointing to their second-half collapse as the reason behind their defeat.
Arteta struggled to hide his frustration after watching the Gunners throw away any realistic hope of catching leaders Manchester City, who are now four points clear with two games to go.
And the Spaniard blasted his players for their second-half performance as he apologised to the fans with a heartfelt message, conceding the best team had won on the day.
“A week ago I was standing here feeling proud and today we have to apologise for the performance in the second half. It was not acceptable,” he told Sky Sports after the game.
Arsenal needed to win to close the gap to leaders City after they beat Everton 3-0 earlier on Sunday, and the north London side were well within a chance as they went into the break level after a closely-fought first half against Brighton.
But the visitors produced an excellent display after the break, with goals from Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan condemning the hosts to a damaging loss in the title race.
Pep Guardiola’s side now require just two points from their final three matches to retain the title, and Arteta all but conceded their hopes of leapfrogging City are over for this season – having been eight points clear at one stage.
“Mathematically, it’s still possible, but today it’s impossible to think about it,” he added. “We need to digest the result and the performance in the second half, understand why and have a different reaction.
“Brighton were really good when we became really poor. Before that it was the game we expected. The first half we knew that, the way they play, they make the game compeitive.
“It was difficult to get a long sequence of play. We conceded when they were direct in behind and the second one we gave away was a silly one. Then the team had no answers.
“We had to be more aggressive and take chances They used the space well and we got punished. I will always defend my players, so the person responsible is me. After a defeat like this at home you have to make analysis of yourself first before looking at anybody else.”
Arteta’s men now must hope their London rivals Chelsea do them a favour next Sunday at the Etihad when the leaders host the struggling Blues, who have already lost all three games this season. And they can wrap up the title before a ball is even kicked if Arsenal fail to beat Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
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