Mikel Arteta revealed what he told his Arsenal players after their dramatic 3-3 draw with Southampton, saying that he loves them. The Premier League leaders had gone 2-0 and 3-1 down to bottom-placed Southampton, but managed to rescue a point thanks to late goals from Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka. Arteta praised his players for their courage and spirit, despite the disappointing result. He said: “It is incredible, we were on the way back, we conceded again with a sloppy goal but in the end we should have won the game. We created enough chances and opportunities but it didn’t happen and we are disappointed. You can’t concede three goals in this league, if you concede three like we did in a sloppy way it is very difficult to win matches. This young team reacts in a way that is incredible, when it is against the odds but the chances they created and the spirit they had it was a joy to watch. The message is clear that I love them. We are down and they are more willing than anybody to win it. You can see that spirit and fight in the dressing room but it is clear we have to do defensively things better.”
Arsenal’s result leaves them five points ahead of Manchester City, who have two games in hand and a superior goal difference. Arteta said he was looking forward to the potential title decider at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, saying: “I cannot wait, these are the games you want to play. When everything is at stake you have to go there to win. The game will be prepared to that, that is for sure. It is the beauty of this sport, you want to be in these positions. We will have an incredible trip to Manchester and we will prepare really well.”