Mikel Arteta criticized his Arsenal players for not meeting the required standards to compete for the Premier League title after their 1-0 defeat to West Ham.
The loss leaves Arsenal eight points behind leaders Liverpool, who could extend their lead to double digits with a win over Manchester City on Sunday.
With injuries to Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, and Bukayo Saka, Arsenal played without a recognized striker, with midfielder Mikel Merino filling in as a makeshift forward.
Asked if the absence of a traditional striker was the reason for the defeat, Arteta firmly disagreed, saying: “No, absolutely not, and I completely reject that idea. I’m talking about the standards of the players and the team we put out today, myself included.”
“And those standards were nowhere near what we need to reach if we want a chance to win the Premier League. Today, we were far from it. Yes, we were consistent, but football is about what you do on the day, and today, we were nowhere near good enough.”
Arteta expressed frustration over the missed opportunity to close the gap on their title rivals.
“Even with the possession we had and 20 shots, I never felt we were at the level we needed to be,” he said. “First, we needed to be more threatening, and then we allowed them to counter-attack because we lost too many balls, which gave West Ham dangerous opportunities.”
“We need to be angry about this. I hope we are because we didn’t reach the levels we should have, and I take full responsibility for that. So, I’m really angry.”
When asked if the title race would be over if Liverpool defeated Manchester City, Arteta replied: “It’s not in our hands. For me, I’m really upset about the things that are within our control, and we didn’t do them as well as we could have today. That’s the performance and the result.”
