'Simple as that' - Mikel Arteta blasts errors from his Arsenal players after potentially costly draw with struggling Southampton
- Arsenal drew 3-3 with Southampton
- Have three points from as many games
- Bad run could prove costly in title race
WHAT HAPPENED? The Premier League leaders found themselves 2-0 down within 15 minutes of Friday evening's clash against bottom club Saints. Late goals from Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka earned a point for the home team, who have now drawn each of their last three matches. Despite their bad run, Arteta believes his team are in high spirits, but insists they must cut out the costly errors.
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WHAT THEY SAID: "The concern is turning around those moments, especially if the players in some moments are in doubt. In football you go through moments when you make errors and are not in a good moment, but you have to come away from that," he said after the match.
He added: "I don’t see a lack of confidence. When a team does that normally players start to hide. I didn’t see a single player do that. They were all willing to take risks and initiative. That’s why we got back from 3-1 to 3-3 and should have won the game. The confidence is there. It’s just those moments. At this level you cannot give the goals away that we did. Simple as that.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Arsenal are five points clear at the top of the Premier League, but closest challengers Manchester City have two games in hands, meaning the north London side's recent run may have handed control of the title race to Pep Guardiola's team.
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WHAT NEXT? A top-of-the-table clash awaits Arsenal next week as they take on Manchester City on Wednesday - a match that will have a significant say in the Premier League title race.