Mikel Arteta reveals why his Arsenal side dropped points against Southampton

Arsenal were yesterday welcomed at the St Mary’s Stadium by Southampton and they hoped that they would continue their fine form in the Premier League but that wasn’t the case as the home side secured one point. Arsenal made a draw for the first time this season and this has led to Manchester City getting nearer to them as they are now only two points ahead of The Citizens.

Arsenal were the first to go in front yesterday as a perfectly beautiful cross from Ben White saw Granit Xhaka score once again for the gunners to give them the lead as he did a few days back in the UEFA Europa League but the result was different this time. Arsenal held onto this lead for the full first 45 minutes but Southampton were very impressive in the second half as they pushed for an equaliser until they got one in thanks to Armstrong.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was obviously disappointed in the performance of his side as they dropped two valuable points and he had this to say about why they failed to beat Southampton on Sunday.

“I think we stopped doing all the simple things right. The distances on the ball positions were too far, we gave too many simple balls away in very dangerous areas without much pressure and that didn’t allow us much continuity like we had in the first half. Then you are more tired because the game becomes more open and there are more transitions and you are fatigued.” Mikel Arteta told Arsenal Media.

“I think again we finished the game on top of them and we tried to go for the second goal, but we didn’t find a way to do it. It was a consequence of one thing after the other and we didn’t stop it quick enough.”