Mikel Arteta apologised to Arsenal supporters after the 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth, calling the result “a big punch on the face” and demanding an immediate response before Wednesday.
Mikel Arteta apologised to Arsenal’s supporters after the 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth, with the manager describing the result as “a big punch on the face” and admitting his side were well below their level in key areas.
Arsenal suffered a damaging home defeat after goals from Eli Junior Kroupi and Alex Scott either side of Viktor Gyokeres’ penalty, and Arteta did not try to soften the scale of the setback afterwards. “Extremely disappointing,” he said. “It is a big punch in the face. That’s what I said to the boys.” He added that the focus now had to turn quickly to the response, saying Arsenal would need “a big spirit, a lot of fight” and a much clearer approach than they showed once the game began to slip away.
The strongest line from the press conference came when Arteta was asked about the supporters. Having urged fans before the match to make the early kick-off a big occasion, he was direct when questioned about what he now had to say to them. “I apologise. Take it in the chin and that’s it,” he said. Arteta then praised the crowd, describing the atmosphere, support and energy in the stadium as “the best in the world”, before admitting the team had failed to match it often enough. “We have to apologise to them and improve for sure,” he said.
Arteta also made clear he saw the biggest issues as self-inflicted. “Today there was just some very basic things that we did extremely bad,” he said, adding that Bournemouth are exactly the kind of side who will punish those mistakes, turn the game chaotic and make it difficult to control. He refused to go through each error in detail, but said the problems were “quite obvious” and accepted there was “a lot, a lot, a lot in our plate to look at ourselves.”
There was no appetite from Arteta to hide behind fatigue or circumstance. Asked whether tiredness or the mental strain of the title race had contributed, he said: “I don’t want to put those excuses.” Instead, he pointed to something else he felt was missing. “That’s one of the things that I haven’t seen the team today,” he said. “That level of enjoyment in certain moments. And fight.” In his view, Arsenal will need both if they are to handle the different situations still to come before the end of the season.
Arteta’s message for the days ahead was blunt. Arsenal have no time to dwell on the defeat. “There’s no excuses,” he said. “It’s about how we’re going to stand up first of all individually, and then as a team to change that immediately on Wednesday.” He added that, painful as the result was, “tomorrow is a different day.”
That leaves Arsenal with little room for self-pity. Arteta’s tone was apologetic towards the supporters, critical of the performance, but still fixed on one thing: response. After Bournemouth, he made it clear what he expects next. Arsenal have to stand up quickly.