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Mikel Arteta admitted that Arsenal’s slip-up against Sunderland “hurt” his side, as the Gunners failed to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to nine points.
Arsenal fell behind to a 36th-minute Dan Ballard goal at the Stadium of Light on Saturday and trailed at half-time, giving Liverpool hope that an unexpected upset was on the cards. A second-half fightback appeared to have dashed those hopes, with Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard netting for the league leaders.
Yet there was one final twist in the fourth minute of injury-time as Brian Brobbey acrobatically fired beyond David Raya to ensure Arsenal dropped points for the first time since mid-September.
It means Arsenal sit six points clear at the league summit following Chelsea’s win over Wolverhampton Wanderers a few hours later, while it is eight points better off than Liverpool ahead of Sunday’s trip to Manchester City.
Arteta couldn’t hide his frustrations after the game’s conclusion. “Yeah, of course it hurts, especially when it costs you points,” he admitted.
“We know that we have to do better, and even though we’re conceding goals, there are things that we have to improve on the ball. I always mention that, and that's it. Learn from the past and get back.”
Sunderland moved the advertising boards closer to the pitch at the Stadium of Light in an attempt to negate the impact of Arsenal’s long throws. The Black Cats also employed a physical approach in front of a hostile crowd, which made it difficult for Arsenal to play at its best.
“We had to navigate through a really tough game, we knew that. It was very disruptive; we have to deal with situations that are difficult to deal with,” said Arteta.
“They did really well and we conceded a goal that is not in our standards, but after that I think the team reacted really well, showed a lot of personality and courage.
“We totally dominated the game and then you have to rely on defending the box when they start to commit six or seven players there.
“It can be from a direct play, it can be from a throw-in, it can be from any situation,” he continued.
“We can defend the action better and today we haven't done it; we conceded the goal. In the last minutes, we had another massive chance with Richy [Calafiori] and Mikel [Merino] to win it, which I think we deserved to do, but it didn't happen.
“I think it shows what we've done in the last 10 games, winning them in the manner that we've done it with clean sheets, missing seven players in the front line. So, it shows you how difficult it is.”
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