Mikel Arteta has said that Arsenal cannot win the Premier League title if they do not improve at both ends of the pitch.
Arsenal missed the opportunity to rise to the top of the standings on Thursday after losing 2-0 at home to West Ham, despite scoring 30 shots compared to six for the visitor.
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Tomas Soucek and Konstantinos Mavropanos scored for West Ham, while Said Benrahma scored a stoppage-time penalty saved by David Raya to leave Arteta’s side with just two points from their last four matches.
Although Arsenal have the second-best defensive record in the division – behind only leaders Liverpool – they have scored the fewest goals in the top five (36).
Arsenal made 77 touches in their opponent’s penalty area – a record for a team that has failed to score in a Premier League match since records began in 2008 – and asked if their side could win the title in the way they did against West Ham, Arteta. He responded: “If we don’t get better in the boxes, no. Because in the end that’s what it is. But generating the rest, yeah. You say it’s a record, right? I don’t think there are many teams” in the league that have done that for so many years. . “I think it’s a very positive thing.”
Bukayo Saka has scored just once in the league since September, while Gabriel Martinelli has scored just twice in all competitions since October.
In response to whether the duo needed to rest heading into Sunday’s trip to Fulham, Arteta said: “I don’t know. Obviously there’s been a lot of games but they looked really good, they looked fresh. When you win, you don’t feel it.” “Look at that. They’re young. If they were 35, maybe the question would be different. They’re young, they’ve got a lot of energy. They can keep going, that’s for sure.”
“Without a spark, you cannot achieve what the team achieved today. It is impossible. But the last thing, the last touch, the last action is what puts the ball in the net or not. That is what we need.”
