'I have to apologise' - Mikel Arteta sends message to Arsenal fans after Brighton defeat

Mikel Arteta has apologised to Arsenal fans over the way his team capitulated in the second half against Brighton on Sunday.

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WHAT HAPPENED? Arsenal went into the game knowing they had to win to keep up the pressure on Manchester City following their win at Everton earlier in the afternoon, but after a tight first half against the Seagulls they conceded three times after the interval to fall to a painful 3-0 defeat.

It was a loss that all but ended their title hopes with two matches remaining and speaking after the game a despondent Arteta could only apologise to supporters for what happened in the second half.

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WHAT THEY SAID: The Arsenal boss said: “It’s a really different feeling to the feeling that we all had last Sunday [against Newcastle] when we felt proud and we felt that we really did what we needed to win in certain moments. Today is completely the opposite. We have to apologise to our people especially for the second half.

“We fought really hard to be in the position we are in and today we were in a critical moment to keep hoping and digging for that dream. When you have to play in these moments you cannot do what we did in the second half. If a team is capable of doing that when it comes to the biggest stage, there’s a lot of things to analyse and think about because it cannot happen.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Expanding on his thoughts further, Arteta added: “Obviously what the team has done over the last 10 months is very different to what anybody expected and that generates a lot of expectation as well enthusiasm, happiness and joy. That’s something that has to be managed in the right way and after that we have the responsibility to make sure the team performs and I am responsible for that. So I hate the feeling of letting people down when they are expecting something. That’s the biggest regret I have today and I have to apologise for that.”