A massive night in the Premier League.
Ian Wright has criticised Mikel Arteta’s tactics vs Manchester City, following Arsenal’s 4-1 loss on Wednesday night.
While Arsenal are still in fact top of the league after the loss, Man City are now just two points behind them with two games in hand and a vastly superior goal difference.
The general consensus from the footballing world is that Arsenal’s title hopes ended on Wednesday, after they suffered the loss after three disappointing draws in a row.
Speaking after the game, Wright implied that Arsenal were too cautious in the way they set up, particularly with regards to former City man Gabriel Jesus.
Ian Wright vs Mikel Arteta
He said: “You look where Jesus is [out on the left] and this is the only way Arsenal are going to get any sort of half chance. They did finally break through at one stage and then you look at that [no Arsenal players in the City box].
“That is where you want your striker because you are not going to get too many opportunities where are you going to be able to break into City and do that. That was five minutes in, you have to take it to put them on the back foot.”
While Arteta agreed that his team were not up to scratch, he doesn’t believe that the title race is over.
🗞 Our performance
🗞 Bouncing back from defeat
🗞 Turning attentions to the rest of the seasonEvery word from Mikel's post-Manchester City press conference – available to read here 👇
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 27, 2023
He said: “We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and be fair. When that team plays at that level it’s extremely difficult to stay up.
“We weren’t at our level. It’s a concern. When you’re fighting for a championship [to do that].
“It’s not about fight. It’s about the competitiveness in this kind of game. We never generated any momentum in the game.
“We are going to want to compete and we are not going to give up. There are five games to go in this league and anything can happen.”
Next up for Arsenal is Frank Lampard’s Chelsea at home, and they will be eager to put things right and ensure they end the season strongly.
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