Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has encountered a recurring challenge as his team squandered another opportunity to close the gap on the table leaders. The Gunners missed crucial chances and suffered from self-inflicted mistakes, reminiscent of previous matches.
The experiment of using Mikel Merino as a striker failed to yield results, and Arsenal found themselves trailing 1-0 after a Jarrod Bowen goal. The situation worsened when Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off for a midfield tackle, compounded by goalkeeper David Raya's unorthodox positioning.
Arteta addressed the red card incident, stating he hadn’t reviewed it closely and preferred to move past the event.
The Gunners’ offensive efforts were unimpressive, as West Ham maintained a solid defensive stance after securing their counter-attacking goal under the guidance of Graham Potter.
Following the match, Arteta expressed his feelings: "Very painful. Congratulations to West Ham for the victory. On our side, it’s very disappointing. We tried with 10 men, putting in effort and energy, but lacked quality and repetition of positive actions."
Arteta continued, "We played into their hands and were not at our best, especially with the ball. Just before halftime, we failed to defend a counter and cross from the right effectively, making the game very tricky."
He added, "I don’t want to blame injuries. Our overall play and performance weren’t up to standard, and I take responsibility for that."
On tactical changes before the red card, Arteta explained, "We aimed to create a new dynamic. We had more of a threat, but when Myles was sent off, it became even tougher."
Arteta concluded, "Tomorrow is another day. We must feel disappointed about today but remember there's a long way to go. Such events can happen to any team."
Martin Odegaard shared his views, stating, "I don’t think we played at our level. The performance wasn’t good enough. We struggled to break through, lacking efficiency in the final third and in our final passes."
He acknowledged, "A big loss today. We let them counter too easily, especially in the second half. It wasn’t good enough."
On why the team faltered, Odegaard said, "I’m not sure. We allowed them too much freedom on counters and weren’t sharp enough in the box. We lacked final-third efficiency."
Regarding injuries, he commented, "Obviously we miss some players, but we must focus on those available. We have more than enough."
Odegaard concluded, "We tried until the end, but it wasn’t good enough."
