'It's a shame...': Mikel Arteta blasts Arsenal for shipping three goals against Manchester City

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was not a pleased man after silly errors from the players cost his side three crucial points in the title race. Arteta said it was a 'shame'that his team could not come out on top despite having City pinned down for the majority of the game.

“It’s exceptionally difficult to play at the level they require you to play to have a chance to win. I thought in many moments we did and we had them," said Arteta before adding, "But if you give three goals the way we did and don’t put away the big chances we had, then the margin for error is almost zero.

"It’s a shame because we really had them," rued the Spaniard manager.

Manchester City were slow off the blocks in the first half as Arsenal pressed well and took advantage of midfield number superiority. It was unlike of a Pep Guardiola-coached team to be this passive as they only had 36 per cent possession throughout the match.

Despite starting placidly, it was City that drew the first blood, courtesy of a costly error from Japanese international Takehiro Tomiyasu.

He made a fluke back pass to keeper Aaron Ramsdale that dropped right under the feet of City's attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne who buried the ball to the back of the net with extreme precision.

Arteta reflected on Tomiyasu's brain fade moment and said, “I don’t know if it’s experience or bad luck. I’ve never seen Tomiyasu make that pass back in seven years and he did it today. It’s part of it and they have the quality to punish you.

Despite the loss, Arsenal are still very much in the hunt for thefirst Premier League trophy in over 18 years. They have an extra game in hand and the side has the necessary quality to go on another winning run.

“We have to pick [up] the points, because the performances are there for sure. Games are decided in the boxes and we have given too much away today and weren’t ruthless enough to convert our chances. That’s what we have to improve,"added Arteta.

The 'Gunners'will now travel to Villa Park on the weekend to face Unai Emery's tricky Aston Villa before meeting Leicester City and Aston Villa in their backyard.

(With inputs from agencies)

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