Mikel Arteta shows true colours in interview after Arsenal stung by Man Utd | Football | Sport
Mikel Arteta speaks after Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-2 at the Emirates (Image: Sky Sports)
Mikel Arteta showed his class by admitting “sometimes you have to give credit to the opponent” as Manchester United stung title hopefuls Arsenal with a thrilling 3-2 win at the Emirates on Sunday. The Red Devils became the first team this season to beat the Premier League leaders on home soil after Matheus Cunha’s sensational 87th-minute winner. And Arteta was keen to congratulate United on their performance after screamers from Patrick Dorgu and Cunha helped them to a big three points one week on from beating rivals Manchester City.
Mikel Merino thought he’d at least pinched a point for the Gunners with six minutes to play after bundling in at close range from a corner. That cancelled out Dorgu’s incredible strike from the edge of the box shortly after half-time. Yet Cunha curled a beautiful effort beyond David Raya to secure victory for United as caretaker head coach Michael Carrick made it two wins from two. And Arteta said to Sky Sports: “Well first of all you have to congratulate Manchester United for the victory. It happened in a really strange way to be fair. We were really dominant in the first half an hour, scored a goal and had another two brilliant chances to score.
“Then we give them the goal, which is very unusual from our side. That changed the momentum and the energy a little bit. After that we dropped the standard, especially with things we have to do much better with the ball. The game wasn’t controlled. Then they had two magic moments, the two goals that they score from Dorgu and Cunha.
“Credit to them because in big games you need those moments. We were carrying a little bit of that negativity and a lack of fluidity we needed. We made the changes and created a bit of momentum to score the 2-2. You could feel it was game on, everything changes immediately.
“The next action is one against one in the six-yard box, we expect something is going to happen from there. It goes to their goalkeeper, he throws one long ball, one pass, and Cunha scores and it changes again the momentum. A really painful one but it’s now time to be very, very close to those players who are giving us so much joy with their performances.
“It’s time to be very, very close with them and support them because we all want to win.” Arsenal had initially taken the lead after Martin Odegaard’s cross was deflected in by Lisandro Martinez, but Bryan Mbeumo levelled after an error from Martin Zubimendi. Merino cancelled out Dorgu’s wonder goal before Cunha scored the decider.
Arsenal’s Spanish manager added: “We played at Stamford Bridge in a semi-final and were brilliant, against Inter one of the best teams in Europe, we were brilliant. Sometimes you don’t have that day. When we don’t, we have to do the simple things much better than we’ve done today.
Arsenal had won 24 consecutive games in a row before this after scoring the first goal (Image: Getty)
“On top of that, you look at the goals, the goal Dorgu scored from there, the top corner is the only place he could put it. Sometimes you have to give credit to the opponent as well.”
Some felt Dorgu handled the ball moments before lashing in a screamer to put United 2-1 up. But Arteta said: “Handball? I haven’t looked at it. It’s fine. It’s gone. We can do nothing about it.”
The 43-year-old wants Arsenal to remain close-knit after a weekend in which their lead over second-placed Man City, and Aston Villa in third, decreased from seven points to four. Arteta is looking to lead the north London outfit to a first league title since 2004 and a first major trophy since the FA Cup in 2020.
He added: “When we draw or lose a game, that’s the moment we have to really show the unity and togetherness, the energy we’re going to put in to get where we want. Defeats are part of that for us and for any team.
“We have to do what the players deserve which is to be close with them and remind them every day how good they are. I take responsibility for everything. We move on and in three days we have another game.”
Asked by Sky Sports’ Peter Davidson if Arsenal need to play with more freedom in attack, Arteta replied: “I don’t think so. I think three days ago, how free and flowing they looked in Milan, it was unbelievable. No excuses. We accept the defeat and we congratulate the opponent and move forward.”
