Mikel Arteta criticized his Arsenal team for letting another Premier League lead slip away after their 1-1 draw with Chelsea, ranting that it was “so poor” not to seal victory at Stamford Bridge.
The Gunners took the lead thanks to a strong near-post finish from Gabriel Martinelli after captain Martin Odegaard found the Brazilian at the far post.
It took Chelsea just ten minutes to restore parity thanks to a fascinating long-range shot from summer signing Pedro Neto.
Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard missed a chance in the final seconds to clinch victory, stretching in vain to connect with William Saliba’s cross, but the visitors had to settle for a point.
And Arteta was not at all happy afterwards, criticizing his players for not maintaining their lead after doing the same against Liverpool two weeks ago.
Mikel Arteta gave a brutal assessment of his Arsenal’s performance against Chelsea
The Gunners let the lead slip away again after doing the same against Liverpool in October
Arteta also said he was “praying” to have a “fully physically equipped” team after Bukayo Saka was injured.
He told Sky Sports: “I think we dominated them, we were the better team in many phases and situations of the game and after moving on we are very disappointed with the way we conceded.” He was so poor. They are not our standards and we do not accept them.
“I’m very proud, but in the end we are here to get the three points and we didn’t get it. It’s a set piece from the second phase and we were disorganized. We didn’t reorganize ourselves quickly enough and you can’t allow passing like that .
‘You need Neto’s quality to do it, but our standards were not good enough. Everyone is disappointed as a team. I’m very proud of the team for how they reacted. We wanted the three points and we didn’t get them.
‘You could see that everything was flowing but again it’s about winning. We have a clear vision of how we can evolve the team. What we discovered is that we have to change something big because we have one problem after another.
“My biggest fear is physically getting the players to be at their best during the 90 minutes. With that I am fully sure that we will have a good season.”
The stalemate did not favor either team and leaves them both nine points behind leaders Liverpool with only 11 games played.
When asked about the nine-point gap to Liverpool, Arteta replied: “There is nothing we can do about it.” What I ask is that after the international break we have the team fully physically equipped.
‘That they are available and that they are fit, because it has been a nightmare for eight weeks.
Marc Cucurella marked Saka strongly throughout the match and a strong late tackle sent the winger flying.
Declan Rice also left the field at Stamford Bridge as Arsenal injury concerns mount.
Captain Martin Odegaard returns from injury but Arteta still has problems with his squad
‘Doubt after doubt, issue after issue, not only with those who cannot play, but with those who can play only for certain moments and cannot play.
“So I’m just asking that, because the desire that the team has and how much we want it, there’s no doubt.” It’s coming. We just need that on our part to be more consistent.
‘When it gets ugly, show your teeth and show how much you want him. When it’s Disneyland it’s very easy. Everyone is by your side, telling you how beautiful you are.
‘When things get dark and difficult and everyone questions it, that’s when I want to see people. I’m looking around.’
To make matters worse for Arteta, Declan Rice He appeared to limp off in the 71st minute before his England teammate Bukayo Saka was substituted after a strong tackle by the man of the match. Marc Cucurella.
The Gunners boss said: “To be fair, they don’t look very good.” “I don’t know (if long term), but neither of them could finish the game, so it wasn’t good.”
Arsenal may have received a boost after the return of their captain Odegaard for the London derby, but Arteta is still suffering from injury headaches across his squad.
Defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu, Riccardo Calafiori and Kieran Tierney remain out of the competition thanks to long-standing problems.
Gabriel Martinelli put Arsenal ahead against Chelsea but the match ended in a 1-1 draw
Chelsea earned a point after a good equalizer from former Wolves playmaker Pedro Neto.
Kai Havertz silenced Chelsea fans after scoring a goal that was finally disallowed
However, it is hoped that everyone will have the opportunity to give the Spaniard a boost by returning after the international break.
The much-hyped derby pitted a resurgent Chelsea against an Arsenal team hoping for their first Premier League win in four, but the first period proved to be a turgid affair.
Kai Havertz thought he had given the Gunners an advantage over his former team, and celebrated wildly after a clever finish, only for the VAR to judge him to be offside.
The second half was a little more open, especially after Martinelli’s initial goal, and after Chelsea equalized the ball was soon in the back of the net again.
Nicolas Jackson raced towards goal and produced a nerveless shot, but even he knew he was offside, raising questions as to why the linesman had not scored earlier.
Chelsea looked more likely to score towards the end, but Arsenal had the best chance through Trossard in the dying seconds.