LONDON, England (AP):
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta acknowledged his team is going through its first tough period of the season after being stunned by second-tier Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals, two weeks after losing in the final of the English League Cup.
A shocking 2-1 loss at St Mary’s stadium left Arsenal with just the Premier League and Champions League as trophy targets.
A knee injury to Gabriel Magalhaes, which forced off the Brazil centre back in the second half, added more misery for Arteta, who suggested there were players who took the field against Southampton, despite having fitness problems of their own.
What Arteta wasn’t prepared to do was criticise his squad.
“I love my players and what they’ve done for nine months,” he said. “What am I going to do now? Criticise them because we lost a game here in the manner that they tried and the way they are putting their bodies through everything? Some of them probably didn’t even have to be here today.
“No, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to defend them more than ever. If someone has to take responsibility, that’s me and we have the most beautiful period of the season ahead of us. And now it’s a moment in the season — you always have moments, usually two or three. This is the first moment that we have with a certain level of difficulty.”
Arsenal plays Sporting Lisbon — the weakest team remaining — in the Champions League quarter-finals over the next 10 days and has a nine-point lead in the Premier League as the club goes in search of a first trophy since 2020.
Arsenal has finished as the runner-up in the league in each of the last three seasons and was beaten in the semi-finals of the Champions League last year.
“When I say difficulty, we’re going to play in the Champions League quarter-finals and the run-in for the league,” Arteta added. “It is a difficult period but I believe that many other ones are much more difficult.
“So, stand up, make yourself accountable, and deliver as we’ve been doing all season.”
GABRIEL WILL BE ASSESSED
Gabriel was seen with an ice pack on his knee after coming off in the 72nd minute. He missed Brazil’s games over the recent international break because of fitness concerns.
“I think he felt something,” Arteta said of his key defender. “I don’t know exactly what it is, we will have to assess him. But, when a player asks to be substituted, it is never good news.”
