Mikel Arteta knows why his club failed to beat Manchester United despite controlling much of the match on Saturday, but that doesn’t mean he was ready for it.
Saying he was “shocked and frustrated” by the 2-1 loss, the Gunners captain was left wondering how his team could control more than 3/5 possession and take more than 20 shots but only find the net via Olivier Giroud’s stoppage time tally.
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Arteta felt they were dominating the game before an own goal from Kieran Gibbs changed the temperature and, at the risk of losing something in the language, doesn’t think highly of the Red Devils.
From SkySports:“I am shocked and frustrated because we did not deserve this result considering the opposition we were playing against.
“I can only put it down to bad luck on the first goal which totally changed the game, at a time when we were absolutely controlling and hammering United.”
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“It’s [a lack of] ruthlessness, for sure,” he said. “When you are in the box and you can’t manage to score in that many situations, you can’t expect to win.”
Arsenal is a tricky club to get a hold on. Perhaps it’s that “made man” Arsene Wenger needs to move on, or that ownership has waited out their debt without spending a ton, but they should’ve been able to beat United at this stage in the game. Even admitting that the Red Devils have been a bit of a black cat for Arsenal -- now one win in the last 12 contests between the two -- this was a season to be clearly better than the Old Trafford bunch.
They aren’t.