The Arsenal manager discusses penalty decisions, player injuries, and the team’s performance in the Champions League defeat.
Mikel Arteta addressed the media after Arsenal’s disappointing 1-0 defeat to Inter Milan at the Stadio San Siro in the Champions League. Despite the loss, Arteta was proud of his team’s performance and attitude, praising their dominance against one of Europe’s top teams.
On the performance, Arteta said, “The worst thing of the night, for sure, is the result, because the performance, the attitude, the dominance that we showed against one of the best teams in Europe in this stadium, I haven’t seen it in all the other games that I’ve watched. But the reality is the result, and we participated in that because we had many situations that we can resolve much better in front of goal.”
He expressed frustration over two key decisions that affected the outcome, particularly the penalty calls. “I don’t understand [the decision], it’s just a deflection, there is no danger at all, you cannot react because you are very close. But if that’s a penalty, then the one on Mikel Merino when he punches him in the head has to be 1000% a penalty,” Arteta said. “These are the margins in this game, and it’s very very difficult to accept.”
When asked if the team had failed to create enough chances, Arteta replied, “The concern tonight is the result. We didn’t do what we had to do in both boxes. For sure, this is the way that I want to see my team. All the big games that we have in Europe, by far this was the best one that we played in the last few years.”
On the impact of the penalty decisions, Arteta acknowledged the difficulty of changing the outcome, stating, “There’s nothing unfortunately that we can do. We are not going to be able to change it, so unfortunately, we have to accept it and move on.”
Regarding player injuries, Arteta confirmed that Kai Havertz was forced off due to a deep cut requiring stitches, though he expects him to recover in time for Arsenal’s next match. He also mentioned that Mikel Merino, who was substituted due to discomfort, was not concussed.
On the referee’s conversation with him in the second half, Arteta described it as a “private, interesting conversation.”
Looking ahead to Arsenal’s next match against Chelsea, Arteta remained optimistic, saying, “If we play the way we play, we’ll have a big chance to win against Chelsea. I told them that I’m proud of them. I haven’t seen them play in Europe in the manner that we have today. We are disappointed because we didn’t get what we wanted out of the game, that’s for sure
