Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admits the Gunners struggled to cope with Southampton’s high press in the first half and paid the price for conceding a goal as his side exited the FA Cup following a 1-0 defeat at Saint Mary’s.
Kyle Walker-Peters’ deflected shot off Gabriel on the 24th minute was enough to separate the sides on an afternoon when the Gunners looked disjointed until a series of second-half substitutions.
Despite a much improved second half, Arteta’s charges could not overturn their one-nil deficit as they bowed out of the competition.
After the game, Mikel Arteta faced theBT Sportcameras. Here’s what he had to say…
On going out of the FA Cup…
Yeah, I’m really sad to be out of the competition, congratulations to Southampton to get through to the next round. I’m disappointed to be out and disappointed in the way we lost the game. It [the goal] was done in an area where we cannot give the ball away.
On his players not getting going…
We had some issues in the first half controlling certain aspects. A lot of unforced errors as well, not dealing with the high press that they do, when we break that pressure. We had in the first half two or three important moments but we didn’t hit the target. In the second half, we produced another two or three chances but not enough to win the game.
On the goal…
The way we conceded the goal is completely our own fault. We cannot do that. We have to compete in these games or you know you’re out. We have to do that better. It’s a lesson.
On a lack of rhythm…
No, it was a very even game. In The first half,0 there were moments where they won a lot of second balls, and they are good when they have transition moments, they are dangerous, they hold the ball up really, really well. In the second half, we had some more quality, and you can see that, we became much more dominant, we played more in the opponent’s half, and we created some chances, but it wasn’t enough.
On whether he got the performance he wanted from those he selected…
They all tried so hard. You see it was a really intense game again. Southampton really demands the best from you because they are really aggressive with the way they play. The boys tried their best.
On preparation for Tuesday…
I hope we can use this to be more prepared and come here and win the game which is what we have to do.
On strengthening in January…
We are looking in the market to see what we can do. We moved some players, we are short in one or two positions, let’s see what we can do.