Reuters, on May 14, in London: Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, started the day with the belief that his team may still deny Manchester City the Premier League championship, but he ended it by expressing regret to the team’s supporters.
Arsenal’s hopes were all but dashed as they were humiliated 3-0 at home by a strong Brighton and Hove Albion team, just hours after City defeated Everton by the same score.
Thousands of Arsenal supporters had already left the stadium when Brighton went up 2-0 in the second half thanks to goals from Julio Enciso and Deniz Undav, making the entire situation feel incredibly anticlimactic.
And when Pervis Estupinan made it 3-0 in stoppage time in front of a quickly emptying stadium, Arsenal, who had been in first place for most of the season, felt pretty humiliated.
but have buckled over the last six weeks.
“A week ago I was standing here feeling proud and today we have to apologise for the performance in the second half. It was not acceptable,” Spaniard Arteta told Sky Sports.
“Mathematically, (the title) it’s still possible, but today it’s impossible to think about it.
“We need to digest the result and the performance in the second half, understand why and have a different reaction.”
In charge of the title race and eight points ahead of City, Arsenal defeated Leeds United 4-1 on April 1.
They have only achieved two victories in their last seven games, and last month they were destroyed at City.
After finishing fifth the previous campaign, Arsenal has advanced significantly this time around, but a dejected Arteta may not see many advantages following his team’s defeat to Brighton in the second half.
The mood was dampened even before the game began by City’s victory against Everton in a match that had appeared to be Pep Guardiola’s team’s banana peel, and Arsenal’s performance, particularly in the second half, was possibly their poorest of the season.
Arteta told reporters that “(City’s win) cannot be the way to justify what happened in the second half.”
“(City’s win) cannot be the way to justify what happened in the second half,” Arteta told reporters.
“At the moment the feeling is frustration. That we gave the game away. We fought really hard to be in this position and today was a critical moment to keep hoping and to keep digging for the dream. But you can’t do what we did in the second half.”
Arteta said he has a “lot to think about” over the summer as next season will see Arsenal juggling the Premier League with the demands of the Champions League.
But for now he needs to pick his side up for next Saturday’s clash at Nottingham Forest, when defeat will confirm City as champions. Even if Arsenal win, City need only one win from their three remaining league games.
“I hate the feeling of letting people down when they are really expecting something,” Arteta said. “That’s the biggest regret that I have today. And we have to apologise for that.”