Martin Odegaard, who was angry, acknowledged that Arsenal’s loss to Bournemouth on Saturday was “too sloppy” and unacceptable.
The Gunners are hurt ahead of their Champions League semi-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, where they trail 1-0 from the first leg. Dean Huijsen and Evanilson both scored from second-half set-pieces to cancel out Declan Rice’s goal.
With other teams pursuing them, including Manchester City and Newcastle, the north London club now stands at risk of losing their second-place standing in the league after dropping 21 points from a winning position this season.
“Very disappointed,” remarked Odegaard. I believe we had a good start to the game. We felt like we had almost complete control of the game when we scored, but they scored and we lost.
After then, we are unable to find the rhythm since it is too disorganized and sloppy on our part. The latter part is unacceptable.
We have a big game coming up, so we have to move on. In order to prepare for that, we must also analyze this game.
“This is our goal—to participate in every competition.” We came here hoping to play a solid game and win, but that didn’t happen.
According to Mikel Arteta, the Gunners still need to improve if they want to qualify for the Champions League the following season by finishing in the top five.
“Yes, we still have a lot of work to do because we are mathematically unqualified and haven’t earned the right to place second yet,” he stated.
They are now only three points ahead of Manchester City, and if Newcastle defeats Brighton on Sunday, they will pass Pep Guardiola and company by just two points.
With a trip to Anfield next weekend and a visit from Newcastle to the Emirates a few days later, Arsenal will have two crucial Premier League matches to contend with.
Therefore, it would be wise for Arteta’s team to focus on the past to make sure teams like City and Newcastle don’t overtake them and take the Gunners’ second-place finish.
His team’s focus will now shift to Wednesday’s second leg matchup with Paris Saint-Germain in the season-defining Champions League semi-final.
The Gunners are still in the match despite trailing by one goal, but they will need to improve on their lackluster attacking performance from the previous encounter.
He continued, “It created a lot of anger, frustration, rage, and disappointment on Wednesday’s crucial match against PSG.” On Wednesday, let’s make use of everything. We must take that action.
Thomas Partey, who will play again after missing the first game due to suspension, will help the north London team.
The return of the Ghanaian international will probably give the visitors more security in the middle, after the French champions dominated the crucial midfield duel.
The red-hot forward’s inclusion in Paris is now in doubt after Ousmane Dembele, who scored the lone goal of the first leg, was confirmed to have sustained a hamstring injury.