Mikel Arteta criticised his Arsenal players for their failure to secure a win against Chelsea, following a frustrating 1-1 draw on Sunday night.
The Gunners took the lead in a tightly contested match thanks to Gabriel Martinelli’s goal just after the hour mark.
However, Chelsea responded quickly, with Pedro Neto breaking free to fire a low shot into the bottom corner, equalizing just 10 minutes later.
The draw leaves Arsenal nine points behind league leaders Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
Despite the setback, Arteta chose not to defend his players for the late concession, focusing instead on their defensive shortcomings.
“I think we dominated them, we were the better team in many phases and situations in the game and after going ahead, very disappointed in the way we conceded. It was so poor. It is not our standards and we don’t accept,” he told Sky Sports.
“Really proud, but at the end we are here to get the three points and we didn’t.
“It is a second phase set piece and we were disorganised.
“We don’t reorganise quick enough and you can’t allow the pass that way.
“You need the quality of Neto to do it but our standards were not good enough.
“They are all disappointed as a team. I’m very proud of the team with how they reacted.
“We wanted the three points and we didn’t get them.
“Odegaard’s been out for six weeks, been barely able to train.
“To be able to play at this level in the Premier League tells you how much he looks after himself and the leadership and character he has. Everything flows better with players like this.
“Today we clicked much better.
“You could see everything was flowing but again it is about winning.
“We have a clear vision how we can evolve the team.
“What we find out is that we have to change something big because we have problem after problem.
“But this team is able to adapt. My biggest fear is physically to get players at their best for 90 minutes.
“With that I’m fully confident we will have a good season.”
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