Mikel Arteta admitted it is ‘impossible’ to think about Arsenal winning the Premier League following their shock defeat to Brighton on Sunday.
The Gunners collapsed as they lost 3-0 to the impressive Seagulls, meaning the league title could be decided next week.
Manchester City need just one more win to secure their third championship in a row, but can win the title before they kick a ball again with Arsenal needing to beat Nottingham Forest first.
The defeat marked an end to what has been a good challenge from Arteta and his side, but they have dropped several points in recent weeks which has seen their charge die out.
Arteta, speaking to Sky Sports, apologised to fans as he admitted the showing wasn’t acceptable, but he struggled to explain the reasoning for the defeat.
Mikel Arteta has admitted it is ‘impossible’ to think about Arsenal winning the Premier League
The Gunners suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Brighton at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon
Arteta took responsibility for the performance, which he branded ‘not acceptable’ after the game
‘A week ago I was standing here feeling proud and today we have to apologise for the performance in the second half,’ he said. ‘It was not acceptable.
‘Mathematically, it’s still possible, but today it’s impossible to think about it. We need to digest the result and the performance in the second half, understand why and have a different reaction.’
The Spaniard was keen to praise Brighton for their play but sounded downbeat throughout the interview.
He admitted his team had no answers to the Seagulls’ play, but took responsibility for the result, admitting his team had to be more aggressive.
Brighton ran riot to leave Manchester City on the edge of their third league title in a row
Gunners captain Martin Odegaard apologised to fans that remained in the ground after the game
‘Brighton were really good when we became really poor,’ he said. ‘Before that it was the game we expected.
‘The first half we knew that, the way they play, they make the game competitive. It was difficult to get a long sequence of play. We conceded when they were direct in behind and the second one we gave away was a silly one. Then the team had no answers.
‘We had to be more aggressive and take chances They used the space well and we got punished.
‘I will always defend my players so the person responsible is me. After a defeat like this at home you have to make analysis of yourself first before looking at anybody else.’
source: dailymail.co.uk
