Mikel Arteta says recent defeats for Arsenal have been ‘painful’ and is hoping his side can bounce back against Southampton this weekend.
Arsenal have lost three of their past four league fixtures in the Premier League, a run which has halted the momentum of an eight-game unbeaten sequence earlier in the campaign.
The north Londoners led at both Manchester United and Everton before eventually succumbing to defeat, the latter loss seeing the Gunners beaten after a stoppage-time Demarai Gray winner on Merseyside.
Arteta believes his side ‘deserved more’ than their recent results, believing his side ‘punished’ themselves during the defeat at Everton.
“After losing against Liverpool we reacted really well against Newcastle,” Arteta told his pre-match press conference.
“I think we deserved more against United and against Everton we punished ourselves. I didn’t think we had a game to lose either.”
Arsenal are currently seventh in the Premier League, four points adrift of West Ham in the race to secure Champions League football. Ahead of this weekend’s meeting with Southampton at the Emirates, Arteta was asked whether his side’s ambitions had changed following their recent run of results.
“Every time you lose a football match in this club it’s what happens. I think it should happen because we’re here to win every match. It’s painful and even more painful for me because of the way we lost those games. Across the two matches I think we deserved much more than two defeats. It happened so we have to manage that reality.”
