Mikel Arteta was left with mixed emotions after Arsenal’s thrilling 2-2 draw against Sunderland, expressing both pride in the Gooners’ fight and disappointment at leaving with only a point.
Arsenal trailed at the break after Dan Ballard’s opener, but second-half strikes from Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard sparked a spirited turnaround that brought the Gooners within touching distance of a 12th straight win. However, Brian Brobbey’s acrobatic equalizer denied Arsenal all three points, leaving them to settle for a draw.
Mikel Arteta remained diplomatic after the match, admitting that while he was frustrated to see Arsenal concede late on, he took great pride in the Gooners extending their unbeaten streak to 14 games amid a string of recent challenges.
“We’re obviously disappointed that we lost two points,” he said. “We knew that it was going to be really tough, really disruptive, a lot of stop and start, a lot of long balls. We dealt with that the majority of the time well, but we conceded two goals in a way that we should have defended better.”
“After 1-0, I think the team reacted really well. We scored a goal, scored a second goal, really dominated the game and created more chances, and then at the end, they don’t need much, just a ball in the air, it’s a front-up ball, and we can deal with that better. We conceded a goal, but we reacted immediately, and we have a massive chance with Richy and Mikel to win the game.”
“So overall, we’re disappointed with the result, but so proud of the players because putting into perspective what they’ve done in the last 10 games, winning all of them with the amount of clean sheets that they had, with seven players injured.”
After enduring a grueling run of seven games in just 21 days, a stretch Arsenal managed to navigate unbeaten despite a wave of injuries, Mikel Arteta is now eager for a brief pause to reflect on the Gooners’ strong start to the season and take stock of where his side stands.
With huge clashes against Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea looming, Mikel Arteta is keen to have more of his key players back in action as Arsenal aims to extend their impressive unbeaten streak even further.
“Now we reset with the international break, get the [international] players back nice and healthy, make sure that the ones that are not healthy get healthy, and we go again.”
“We’ll look back at what we’ve done, take all of the positive things that we do, and the things that we have the opportunity to improve as well, and start to plan what is coming because it’s going to be very demanding.”
“Our supporters have been amazing again today, thank you so much. They’ve been all over us the last few weeks, and we’re going to need them with us.”
