Mikel Arteta says he believes Arsenal can still win the title after dropping points in the final against Manchester City at the Etihad. Gunners manager Arteta appeared defiant following the disastrous defeat at the Etihad and surprisingly declared he had even more faith after seeing their energetic performance.
City can move to the top of the table on goal difference with a win against Burnley on Wednesday night, but Arteta said his side are ready for head-to-head competition in their remaining five games. “If they needed more convincing, I think they are more convinced now. They were talking about it in the dressing room,” Arteta said.
“It’s a new league now. They had a game in hand. We have a three-point advantage and we have five games left, so everything is still to come.
“So we know how much we won and we’re not going to stop and we’re going to do it again, that’s for sure. Obviously they were very disappointed that the game didn’t come out the way it did.”
“That’s what it felt like. I knew right away what they were talking about. And they said, ‘Okay, we missed our chance today, but we have our biggest chance over the next five games, so let’s give it a shot.’
Kai Havertz returned to a performance on par with Arsenal, but missed a golden chance to grab a point in the 95th minute and the race should have truly turned in Arsenal’s direction.
Arsenal also hit the target twice, with captain Martin Odegaard insisting they can still claim the title. Coach Odegaard said, “We were disappointed that we couldn’t win. Of course we wanted to get a result, and we worked really hard towards that today. We played a good game and pressed really well.”
“We had some dangerous moments in front of goal, especially in the second half. It was too close to decide a game like this, and we weren’t sharp enough in front of goal. That’s why we went home empty-handed.”
“This is football at this level. It’s always going to be that way. Very intense, very tough. Close. It’s frustrating, but there were a lot of good things from us in this game. Now we’re looking forward to bouncing back in the next game.”
