Mikel Arteta thought there were “a lot of positives” to be taken from Arsenal’s loss to Manchester City, but he also wants his team to play with more efficiency.
With a 3-1 victory over Arsenal on Wednesday at Emirates Stadium, City moved ahead of the Gunners in the Premier League standings.
Arsenal, who have a game in hand on the champions, are on a four-game winless streak across all competitions and will need to turn things around when they travel to face former manager Unai Emery and his Aston Villa team on Saturday.
However, Arsenal’s manager, Arteta, is optimistic that his team can regain the form that gave them an eight-point lead over City at the top earlier in the season.
“I know the right things we have to do to continue to be there [at the top],” the Spaniard said.
“We have seen where the level is and what we have to do to be at that level. There are a lot of positive things to take, for sure, from the season so far [and the loss to City].
“We know that the level of efficiency has to be good with every single game to beat them [City] at the end.
“We are highly motivated to do that.”
He added of the defeat to Pep Guardiola’s men: “You have to give credit to a team when they beat you, but when you analyse the game again, I think we lost it.”
He added of the defeat to Pep Guardiola’s men: “You have to give credit to a team when they beat you, but when you analyse the game again, I think we lost it.”
Arteta says Arsenal are relishing the opportunity to return to the top of the table when they face Villa.
He said: “It is normal that you want to get maximum points, which we didn’t in the last few games. We have to improve because we want to win more games.
“So we are highly motivated for tomorrow’s game because we want to perform well and win the game.”
Meanwhile, Arteta denounced the actions of supporters who hurled objects at City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who had scored the game’s opening goal in the thrilling midweek match.
“Our fans were extraordinary in the game with their level of support and the way they helped to inspire the team,” he said.
“There was an incident at the end that no-one is going to tolerate within this stadium and the club is investigating.”
