Arsenal have suffered two losses in the span of just four days, first going down to Manchester City in midweek and now to Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex.
The two losses mean the Gunners have now slid to the 10th spot on the Premier League table and their hopes of playing in the Champions League is looking more and more like a distant dream now.
And speaking after the humiliating 2-1 loss to the Seagulls, Mikel Arteta has not only accepted full responsibility of the defeat but at the same time has admitted that it will be an uphill task in bringing back the morale of his players.
Talking about his players’ spirits, the manager told in his post-match press conference: “Absolutely [it will be hard to do]. I think when you lose two games in a row that hardest thing to do is to lift the players up and believe again in what we are doing.
“The context of the last game against Man City and this one is completely different. I am much more upset today because I know the accident that happened against City but the accident today was provoked by us and it’s unacceptable.
“I think they competed for large parts of the game, but in crucial moments when you don’t, you pay the price and that’s it. It’s all my fault obviously because I’m the one that has to make sure they do.
“Obviously after a defeat, you want to put the next result straight away to winning. I think we did a lot of things today to win the game comfortably, but we haven’t competed like you have to compete in the Premier League.
“We gave the first goal away and we lost a few important duels afterwards, so I think it’s all our fault.”
Next up, Arsenal take on Southampton FC who go into this game at the back of a 3-0 win against Norwich City and Ralph Hassenhutl will be really confident about inflicting a third straight defeat to the North London side.
But from Arsenal’s side, they should pick up all three points vs the Saints at all costs on Thursday since that will be one of the easier games for Mikel Arteta.
For the remainder of the 2019-20 season, Arsenal still have to play teams like Spurs, Wolves, Leicester City and Liverpool.
