I am very disappointed with the result - Arteta left frustrated after City’s draw
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted he was left frustrated despite his side’s dramatic late equaliser in their 1-1 draw with Manchester City in the Premier League’s fifth round at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners fell behind in the 9th minute when Erling Haaland finished off a swift counter-attack led by Tijjani Reijnders, leaving the hosts chasing the game for almost the entire 90 minutes.
Arsenal pushed relentlessly for a breakthrough but were kept at bay by City’s resolute defending.
The reward finally came in added time, when Gabriel Martinelli latched onto an assist from Eberechi Eze to fire home the equaliser in the 93rd minute.
What Arteta said
Despite the late drama, Arteta expressed mixed emotions about the result.
Speaking in his post-match flash interview, Arteta praised his team’s performance but rued what he felt was an unjust result.
He said, “I am very proud of the team, I have to say. Given how we played, how we dominated them, I am very disappointed with the result. We started the game extremely well, we were so dominant, we were in their half and didn’t allow them to breathe.
“But from a chaotic play, where the ball bounced around, and we lost possession, they found space in front of them, and they are lethal in such situations, given their quality.”
The Arsenal boss added that conceding early disrupted his side’s rhythm but credited his players for responding strongly.
He added, “Then we had about five minutes where we were shaky; we had to mentally regroup because it felt unjust to concede that goal. After that, we completely dominated the game.”
The draw sees Arsenal maintain their unbeaten start to the season but miss an opportunity to leapfrog City at the top of the table.
Guardiola’s side, meanwhile, were left to reflect on two dropped points after leading for nearly the entire contest.