Martin Odegaard Arsenal 2022-23Getty
Chris Burton

Martin Odegaard picks area that ‘wasn’t good enough’ from Arsenal in potentially costly defeat to Man City

ArsenalPremier LeagueArsenal vs Manchester CityMartin Oedegaard

Martin Odegaard admits that Arsenal’s attacking work in a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City “wasn’t good enough”, while they were also sloppy at the back.

  • Gunners suffered setback on home soil
  • Slipped from top spot in the table
  • Made mistakes at both ends of the field

WHAT HAPPENED? The Gunners headed into a crunch clash with the reigning Premier League champions at Emirates Stadium aware that a positive result of any kind would be enough to keep them at the top of the table. Mikel Arteta’s side were, however, to produce a disjointed display against the Blues, with Takehiro Tomiyasu enduring an evening to forget in defence while Eddie Nkeitah missed a couple of golden opportunities that could have made the final outcome very different.

WHAT THEY SAID: Gunners captain Odegaard told the club’s official website on the back of a demoralising setback for title hopefuls: “It was a good game [between] two good teams, an unbelievable atmosphere. It was nice to play in, but it was of course a frustrating result. I think we did a lot of good things but in front of goal, we weren’t good enough. That’s frustrating but at the same time, we did a lot of good things, so we have to take those.

“I think everyone had a feeling that we were doing well [at half-time], that we had a lot of space to play [in]. We needed a few adjustments to improve a few things. In general, I thought the game we played was pretty okay, but in front of goal it wasn’t good enough. Thank you so much to everyone who came and for everything they did to help us today. We’ll work very hard to give them something to hopefully be happy about on Saturday.”

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THE BIGGER PICTURE: Arsenal have slipped to second spot in the Premier League on the back of their reversal against City, although they are only behind Pep Guardiola’s side on goal difference and continue to hold a game in hand.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

Next Match

Takehiro Tomiyasu Kevin De Bruyne Man City Arsenal 2022-23Getty Images

Eddie Nketiah Arsenal Manchester City 2022-23 Premier LeagueGetty Images

Mikel Arteta Arsenal manager ponders during defeat to Manchester City in 2022-23 Premier LeagueGetty Images

WHAT NEXT? Arteta’s team will be back in action on Saturday when taking in a trip to Aston Villa, in a game which will see them come up against former Gunners boss Unai Emery.

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