“He’s been with us only a week or so, but I really saw a lot of things and a lot of purpose, especially the way he was attacking certain spaces,” Arteta added. After losing 0-1 to bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur last week, Arteta’s problems were compounded early on when his team went down 0-2
Mikel Arteta
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted that his side was too ‘naïve’ defensively in their 2-3 loss to Spanish club Villarreal in Wednesday’s friendly. It was their second consecutive pre-season defeat.
After losing 0-1 to bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur last week, Arteta’s problems were compounded early on when his team went down 0-2 in the first 33 minutes at the Emirates Stadium, despite fielding three of their four first choice defenders — centre back Gabriel Magalhaes was the only absentee.
Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes (right) reacts during the game against Villarreal at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday. Pic/Getty Images
Former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe dealt the opening blow in the 16th minute with forward Karl Etta Eyong doubling the Spanish side’s advantage 17 minutes later. Although the Gunners pulled two goals back via Christian Norgaard (36th min) and skipper Martin Odegaard’s penalty (76th min), a 68th-minute strike from Arnaut Danjuma condemned the London side to a defeat.
“I think the result is painful. I think they were super efficient, but we’ve been naive, especially the way we have defended in open spaces and that’s something that, especially the way we play, we have to absolutely nail. Today we haven’t been good at all in that department and that has cost us the game for sure,” said Arteta.
However, the Spanish coach expressed satisfaction with the performance of new striker Viktor Gyokeres. “He’s been with us only a week or so, but I really saw a lot of things and a lot of purpose, especially the way he was attacking certain spaces,” Arteta added.
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