Arsenal must turn loss into ‘fuel in the belly’, says Arteta

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he wanted his side’s chastening 2-0 League Cup final loss to Manchester City to fuel the fire in the belly of his players, who remain in the hunt for three major trophies this season.

Premier League leaders Arsenal arrived as favourites on Sunday to win their first trophy since 2020 but were steamrollered by a dominant City, who won the competition for the ninth time.

The London side’s lacklustre showing will inevitably raise concerns among the club’s fans at a crucial stage of the season as they seek their first Premier League title since 2004 and challenge for the Champions League and FA Cup.

Arteta said his players would have to prove they can overcome what he acknowledged had been a painful and disappointing setback.

“What this team has done in the past eight months has been incredible, and we’re going to use this disappointment and use this fire in the belly to have the most amazing two months that we have ever had together,” he told reporters.

It was only the second defeat in all competitions this year for Arsenal and followed four consecutive wins in the Premier League. Two of those, however, have been by single-goal margins, with another against Everton requiring two last-gasp goals.

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright described the loss on Sky Sports as “a really poor performance”.

Arteta said his side would have to examine what went wrong, acknowledging that City were sharper in every department, with the exception of the first 15 minutes.

While City’s first goal came after a rising cross slipped through Arsenal keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga’s fingers, their fans were left bewildered by their side’s repeated holding of possession in their own box, seemingly waiting for City to commit.

When they didn’t, Arsenal often resorted to playing a long ball, which City were able to pounce on.

“There will be a lot of aspects that we will discuss, and we have to reflect on that when the temperature is down a bit and discuss that,” Arteta said.

Asked whether the season could potentially spiral after the defeat, he replied that Arsenal had not allowed that to happen after previous losses and would not do so now.

“The good thing is we have a very recent history of how this team reacted in those moments, and I’m sure we are going to do it again.”

Reuters