Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has described his team’s performance against Liverpool as “unacceptable,” despite the fact they game from 2-0 down to clinch an important point at Anfield.
It has been a difficult week for Arsenal, who crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in midweek. The disappointment of Wednesday night’s European exit was evident against Liverpool on Sunday, with first-half goals from Cody Gakpo and Luis Díaz leaving Arsenal with a mountain to climb in the second half.
The visitors responded well and restored parity after the break through goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Mikel Merino, before the latter was sent off for a second yellow card offence 11 minutes from time. However, Arteta didn’t hold back when asked to assess his team performance after the game.
“What we did in the first half is nowhere near the level so to do it after that is not acceptable,” he told Sky Sports. “We reacted, great but it is unacceptable. You don’t have to be fighting for trophies and then you might win or lose it. That’s the level you need.
“No-one can promise you win. You’re going to have six, seven teams who pray to be in the Champions League next year and then you see. The action that we had after 20, 25 minutes. When the team plays like this, that’s on me.
“It’s not about the players. It’s about we. No-one accepts those standards. It has to hurt a lot. Six times we played with 10 men this season. Look at what we can do when we are there.”
The result leaves Arsenal second in the table with two games left to play. The Gunners will host Champions League rivals Newcastle United at the Emirates next week before travelling to relegated Southampton on the final day.
