‘They are fuming, but this is good’ – Arteta says Betis defeat will motivate Arsenal

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Mikel Arteta revealed Arsenal’s players were “fuming” after Wednesday’s 3-1 friendly defeat to Real Betis, though the Gunners boss feels that anger may be good for his team.

Former West Ham playmaker Pablo Fornals scored one goal and assisted two as the Premier League champions were well beaten at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

All four goals in the match were scored in the first half, despite Arteta fielding an experienced side for that period.

Piero Hincapie – who scored Arsenal’s goal – played in defence alongside Riccardo Calafiori, Cristhian Mosquera and Ben White, while Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyokeres and new £30m signing Christos Tzolis also started.

Despite having a 62.7% possession share in the first half, Arsenal only fired off five shots and hit the target with two, while Betis had seven and hit the target with all but one.

Arsenal were unable to get back into the contest when a swathe of young players were introduced in the second half, leaving their squad feeling disgruntled.  

Asked to describe the mood in the dressing room afterwards, Arteta said: “Very upset, given a hard time. They are fuming, but this is good. That’s what we need.

“The important part is to win and we didn’t manage to win, so I’m disappointed obviously with the result. 

“It’s true we used 25 players, so you need to give a bit of context to the game.

“In the first half, with more starters, there were two very different things: how we played and how we competed, because we had some fantastic moments in the time we played.

“But in the way we competed, especially in and around our box, in a number of standards that we are used to, there are things to improve.

“There are some positives to take from the game, and then sometimes a bad result is good, to create even more fire in the belly.”

Arsenal have two more friendlies to play before facing Manchester City in the Community Shield on August 16 – versus Borussia Dortmund on Sunday and Como next Wednesday.

They then open their Premier League title defence at home to newly promoted Coventry City on August 21, with tough fixtures against Aston Villa and Chelsea to follow.

General Soccer News

Kerolin hopes to emulate idols Ronaldinho and Neymar at Barca

General Soccer News

Spalletti lauds Juventus’ togetherness as key to victory over Chelsea

General Soccer News

Chivu insists results not a priority as Inter ramp up pre-season preparations

General Soccer News

Palmer’s pre-season absence precautionary after Chelsea star suffers minor injury

General Soccer News

Maresca confident Man City players are adapting after first win

General Soccer News

Olid succeeds Skinner as Man Utd head coach

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.