We bow out of the FA Cup following Saturday’s 2-1 quarter-final defeat at Southampton, and Mikel Arteta has addressed the media in his post-match press conference.
Viktor Gyokeres came off the bench to level the tie in the second-half following Ross Stewart’s opener, before Shea Charles’ late winner for the hosts.
Read every word from Mikel’s post-match presser below:
on his disappointment:
Yes, we’re very disappointed in the manner that we lost the opportunity to get back to Wembley. I think we again had many, many periods of dominance from our side when we generated chances and situations – we didn’t capitalise on that enough – and when you defend in and around the box and directly in the manner that we did today, you’re going to put yourself in a really difficult position. They did capitalise on that, and that’s the reason why we’re out.
on if he was frustrated with the work-rate:
No, not at all. Not with this team at all.
on if anything needs to change in the summer:
I love my players. What they’ve done for nine months, the way they’re putting their bodies through everything, some of them probably didn’t even have to be here today. I’m going to defend them more than ever. If someone has to take responsibility, it’s me – we have the most beautiful period of the season ahead of us, and now is the moment. In the season, you always have moments – normally two or three. This is the first moment that we have with a certain level of difficulty, we say difficulty when we’re going into the quarter-finals of the Champions League and the runner-up for the league. It’s a difficult period – I believe that’s it – there are many others that are even more difficult. So, stand up, make yourself accountable and deliver like we’ve been doing all season.
on what he puts the individual errors down to:
They are part of football, and unfortunately when you make them, you hope the opponent is not going to capitalise and today they have done.
on Gabriel’s coming off:
I don’t know, I think he felt something – I don’t know exactly what it is. We’re going to have to assess him – but obviously when a player is asking to be substituted, it’s never good news.
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on what we can do get back to winning ways:
Giving [the players] clarity, even more conviction now, and trusting the players – believing in what we’re doing, continuing to do that with little tricks that every game demands. But especially, maintaining the spirit, the attitude and the energy at the highest possible level, because that’s critical to perform at the level that we need to win matches.
on what he made of Southampton’s performance:
I congratulate them, I think they are a really good side, it’s not a coincidence among the run they’re in. And as I said, they were far more efficient than us when it mattered most, and that’s why they are at Wembley – so I wish them the best.
on if it’s a concern that we look vulnerable when teams attack:
I don’t know – I think we’ve played against any kind of behaviours from the opponent. We’ve played 51 games, so imagine the amount of games we’ve played and won in different ways. I think it wasn’t about that and without taking any credit from Southampton, it was very related to something that, in my opinion, we have to do a lot better.
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on if chasing four trophies led to us going out of two competitions:
No, and I don’t want to put any excuses about the players that are missing or the players that are here with issues. It’s not the case – let’s look at ourselves in the mirror, accept the situation, and go to Portugal with clarity and look forward to it.
on if it’s a blessing for us to go out of two competitions as we fight for the title:
I don’t know. We are out, so while we are out we still have that pain, but when that pain goes, we have to use the time we have in the best possible manner to maximise every resource we have to then be better.
on what we need to do next:
You have to ‘stop’ when you’re winning, winning, and winning, like we’ve been doing, so that you don’t think you’re better than you are because you’re winning. It’s very clear – we’ve talked about it many times – you have to be very stable [in the Premier League], in any competition that you play, and we will continue to do that.
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Report: Southampton 2-1 Arsenal
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