Arsenal tossed aside a first-half lead to Bournemouth on Saturday, putting their second-place standing in question following a 2-1 loss at the Emirates Stadium.
And Mikel Arteta hopes that his team’s loss will breed emotions that will serve them well for Wednesday’s big UEFA Champions League second leg at Paris Saint-Germain on a high note.
“We didn’t create the right positive momentum,” Arteta said. “We certainly created anger, frustration, rage, and disappointment. Let’s use all of that for Wednesday.”
RECAP — Arsenal 1-2 Bournemouth
The hosts led off of a brilliant Martin Odegaard link up with Declan Rice, and looked set to ride into the second leg in Paris with positive vibes.
But goals from Dean Huijsen and Evanilson mean Bournemouth are bringing all three points back from London and Arsenal will be entering their Parisien comeback bid down 1-0 and on the heels of a loss.
Mikel Arteta is known for his strong views on calls that go against his team but surprisingly did not offer colorful words for Evanilson’s winner, as cameras could not find a view to confirm that it hit the striker’s elbow and not his ribs.
Instead he was focused on the Gunners’ lack of precision in execution.
Mikel Arteta reaction — Arsenal need to use ‘frustration, rage, anger’ from Bournemouth loss to beat PSG
Created enough chances to win? “For sure but we didn’t. We had so many open situations in big spaces with big opportunities to score. We didn’t and when you defend the box the way we did, it’s very difficult to turn it into three points.”
“We should’ve put the game to bed that’s clear and then we don’t defend our boxes.”
What went wrong? “We don’t finish the actions. We give so many simple balls away against a team without a lot of energy. They run, and in transitions they are so good. When we had them we didn’t kill them and it became very chaotic.”
Frustrated with home losses? "[Especially] with how few we concede. The average has been really high — here, against Palace, against Fulham, against Brentford. It’s something we need to improve.”
Can the setback fuel a comeback vs PSG? “We didn’t create the right positive momentum. We certainly created anger, frustration, rage, disappointment. Let’s use all of that for Wednesday.”
Is there a chance Jurrien Timber returns vs PSG? “Yeah there’s a chance.”
