Mikel Arteta said he is looking for a positive response after we fell to our first home defeat of the season on Sunday.
Manchester United struck a late, decisive blow, shortly after Mikel Merino had scrambled home an equaliser to give us hope of a comeback win.
Having taken a deserved lead on the half hour, we then conceded either side of the interval to give ourselves a tough task, and the boss believes the game hinged on a series of crucial flashpoints.
“First of all, I congratulate Man United for the victory – a game of moments, I would define it,” he said afterwards. “The first 30 minutes was total dominance from our side in the areas that we wanted to score the goal, had another two massive chances to score.
“After that we gave a very unusual goal away that gave them hope, changed the energy and the momentum of the game. We weren’t at the standards that are necessary at this level, especially with a lot of simple things with the ball.
“We started the second half again a bit doubtful and concede a goal. When you talk about magic moments, that’s an incredible magic moment that Dorgu has.
“We made the changes, we tried to shift it in different ways, score the goal. And with the 2-2, you could tell straight away, game on; the energy changes, belief changes and we’re on top of it.
“In the next action, Noni is one against one, in the six-yard box to generate something. Ball goes out of play, goal kick, they close the structure, one long ball, one pass and Cunha puts another magic moment on the back of the net, and that was tough.
“And after that, we struggled to react because it was a difficult one to do.
But despite the disappointment, the boss was keen to highlight the positive work we have already done this season, to get us into a position where we are four points clear at the top of the table, with 15 matches remaining.
“We should have done things much better in certain departments, but apart from that, make sure that we are very close to our players, our incredible players, because they’re giving us so much joy for seven months every three days, in every competition, to be in the position that we are in. So, make sure that that weighs much more than the pain of the defeat of today.
“I take full responsibility [today], they have to take full responsibility for what they’ve done for seven months, in the manner that they behaved, how much they want it. And now, in the process of winning, you have to lose or draw. It’s how you react to that. Now we have another opportunity, the best place to talk is on the pitch, in three days’ time, when we play in the Champions League again.
“And the better the energy is around everybody – around the staff, myself, the players, and especially our supporters, much better. And much better we’ll play freely, we’ll flow, and we’ll continue to win a lot of matches, I’m sure.”
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