A furious Mikel Arteta said he was “very, very angry” after his players produced a performance that the Arsenal manager said was “nowhere near” the standards required to win the Premier League.
The Arsenal manager said he was “very much responsible” for his team’s 1-0 defeat at home by West Ham United, which has given Liverpool the opportunity to extend their lead to 11 points when they face Manchester City on Sunday.
Arsenal produced only two shots on target throughout the game and rarely threatened to stage a comeback after Jarrod Bowen had struck for the visitors in the first half.
“I am very disappointed and obviously very angry as well,” said Arteta. “I never felt that we were at the standard and the level that we needed.
“We have to be [angry]. I hope we are, very much, because we did not hit the levels today and I am very much responsible for that. So I am very, very angry.”
Arteta “completely refused” the suggestion that Arsenal’s attacking injury crisis – which has ruled out Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli – was the reason for the loss.
“I am talking about the standards of the players and the team that we played today, me included,” he said. “And that was nowhere near the levels that we have to hit to have the opportunity to win a Premier League.
“I think we have to look in the mirror. The will and the desire, the way we run and the way we want it, zero question about that. But at this level that is not enough. You have to deliver and it has to be with a lot of quality to break a really good team down, to win many more games than we have done.”
Arteta added that he wants his players to “suffer” and “feel the pain” over the next 48 hours before preparations begin for their midweek match at Nottingham Forest. “Make sure we come back on Monday with that bite and anger still in the stomach,” he said.
Graham Potter, the West Ham head coach, said of his team: “Fantastic performance. We were very disciplined, committed, full of effort and intelligence. The players were really top in that because obviously we were playing against a fantastic team and you have to suffer at times. But the players did it well. I am delighted.”
