Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to channel the “pain” from their first defeat in six months as motivation for their upcoming Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk. The Gunners faced a surprising 2-0 loss to Bournemouth on Saturday, a setback exacerbated by the first-half red card issued to defender William Saliba. This defeat has cost them valuable ground in the Premier League, leaving them four points behind leaders Liverpool.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Monday, Arteta emphasized that there’s no need to panic following their first loss since April. “You have a defeat; that’s part of the game. It happens in very specific conditions as well,” he stated. “Let’s move on, take that pain we still have in the tummy, and use it for tomorrow night.”
He further noted, “It puts a bit of perspective into the situation. Obviously, we want to win in any context. The reality is that we have made that context very difficult for ourselves. It was already challenging with the number of players we had out and the demanding schedule we faced, but that’s the reality. We didn’t get away with it in that game. We could have, and it could have been a very different narrative, but we didn’t. On another note, we’ve only lost one game in six months. Now, we need to win again.”
Arteta also addressed the growing concern over red cards, as Saliba became the third Arsenal player to be sent off in just eight Premier League games this season, following Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard. “Playing with 10 men is obviously an issue,” he acknowledged. “The truth is, when you analyze the three very different actions and their outcomes, the reasons for each are quite distinct.”
“Regardless of that, we cannot continue to play with 10 men, especially at this level.”
He added: “We need to eradicate that, it’s clear. Why, the reason and how, it doesn’t matter, we have to focus, it has to happen.”
Arteta said Bukayo Saka’s fitness would be assessed ahead of Tuesday’s match at the Emirates after the England winger missed the Bournemouth game.
Arsenal are looking for their second Champions League victory of the group stage against Shakhtar after drawing 0-0 against Atalanta and beating Paris Saint-Germain 2-0.
Arteta said he had “a lot of sympathy” for his Ukrainian opponents, who are forced to play ‘home’ Champions League games in Germany due to the ongoing war in their own country.
“The things they have to put in place to be able to continue to play football matches at this level and compete in the way they do,” he said. “It’s remarkable.”
