Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta took stock after his team's unexpected defeat by fourth-division Fleetwood in the round of 16 of the "Carabao Cup". The match ended 1:1 in regular time, and on penalties the hosts triumphed 5:3 and eliminated their famous rival.
The Spanish specialist congratulated the opponent, but did not hide his bitterness at the negative development of the match.
„First of all, I want to congratulate Fleetwood for advancing - they achieved success in their own way. For us, this is an extremely sad day. I have no complaints about the attitude of my players and I didn't see anyone who didn't meet the requirements for this level. We had full possession of the ball, created a lot of chances and took a lot of shots. If you want to avoid penalties, you have to take the chances that came your way. We didn't do that, and that's what football is all about," Arteta said.
The "Gunners" coach noted that in tournament competitions, class differences can easily be erased.
„In tournaments like this, chances are often equal, especially when the opponent takes the lead and gains confidence. Throughout the entire match, we hardly gave them the opportunity to create anything dangerous, while we missed so many. In the end, small details decided the outcome. That's football and that's the charm of these competitions, especially in England.“
Arteta stressed that a lack of motivation was not among the factors in the failure.
“If the problem was the attitude towards the game, I would be furious. I'm just sad, everyone in the dressing room is sad. We have to always defend the emblem of this club. There was no lack of effort, dedication or desire to win - we just didn't have enough to secure a comfortable victory. Given our performance on the pitch, the final result should have been completely different“, the Spaniard summed up.