Mikel Arteta admits Arsenal were ‘sloppy’ in the 2-2 draw at West Ham and was furious at his side for conceding a ‘terrible penalty’.
Arsenal let a two-goal lead slip again in a huge dent to their chances of lifting the Premier League trophy for the first time since 2004.
The Gunners looked to be in total control at the London Stadium, going 2-0 up after just 10 minutes following goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard.
But after Gabriel Magalhaes gave away a penalty for a foul on Lucas Paqueta, the Hammers reduced their lead before the break as Said Benrahma slotted home.
Bukayo Saka then missed a spot kick in the second half before Jarrod Bowen levelled it up in a huge boost to Premier League title rivals Manchester City.
Arteta was far from happy after the match and told Sky Sports: ‘Very disappointing.
‘The way we started was superb again, we were in total control, then we have to blame ourselves as we lost purpose.
‘We gave them hope, conceded a terrible penalty, then credit to them. They started to play direct and we could not control that situation.
‘We got on the rollercoaster where everything is going, corners and throw ins, and we never got away from that.
‘The purpose we needed for third and fourth goal, I didn’t see it. We started to get sloppy, playing flicks, losing the ball, it broke our flow. Credit to West Ham, they put [us] in trouble.’
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard also shared his thoughts on the game and added: ‘A lot of the same things to last week, started well but then we stopped, allowed them to play on their qualities.
‘We gave them the game they wanted, we gave them hope, and that’s on us. We have to look forward now.
‘We started to do a lot of stupid things on the ball, we allowed them to play on the long balls.’
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