Arteta: We have proven our competitiveness; these players deserve immense credit

In the 23rd round of the Premier League, Arsenal lost 2-3 at home to Manchester United. After the match, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta spoke to Viaplay.

Manager, let’s start with your immediate analysis of the match. Why did it end up this way?

First, we must acknowledge Manchester United’s performance. Conceding three goals in a single game is not typical for us. The first goal was entirely our own mistake—we handed it to them. Then they changed the course of the match through two moments of exceptional individual quality. Additionally, during the first 30 minutes, we played almost exactly as we wanted—completely in control and even scored a goal. In that period, we were fully in the game and performed very strongly. But afterward, we started giving the ball away too easily, and against a team that is currently extremely effective on the counterattack, once the pitch opens up, they become very dangerous. We were forced to drop back and reorganize.

We then made adjustments, trying to shift the rhythm of the match, and successfully scored our second goal. But immediately after, in the following phase, we had a one-on-one situation inside the box and got nothing out of it. Right after that, their goalkeeper launched a long ball, and they capitalized on the opportunity—Cunha produced an absolutely brilliant moment to make it 3-2, which completely erased the momentum we had just rebuilt and could have used to fight for a win again.

After leveling the score at 2-2, you had brought yourselves back into the match. From that perspective, is the most disappointing part perhaps not even securing a single point?

Yes. Because at that moment, we had successfully turned the tide of the match. We controlled the momentum and put them under real pressure. Psychologically, that was a very difficult moment for them. If we could have maintained that intensity for just a few more minutes, we would have started creating chances again and truly dominated in the areas where we wanted to take control. But instead, they opted for a more direct approach—using long balls to maintain structure—and we lost the aerial duel. Cunha received the ball around the edge of the box and finished with a truly spectacular goal.

This week featured a very congested schedule—you had just secured an important Champions League victory away at San Siro, and then came back to play this league match. Could this be explained by a lack of energy or physical fatigue?

No, we don’t want to make any excuses. What matters now is standing by our players, who deserve enormous credit. Everything we’ve achieved this season is thanks to their efforts. So the responsibility now lies with me—I need to ensure they recover properly. But this is simply part of the journey. If you want to win titles, you have to go through moments like these. And we’ve already shown just how competitive and excellent we are.