Arteta admits Arsenal players need "more training" after "not good enough" blast

29 December 2023 , 07:47

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Arteta admits Arsenal players need "more training" after "not good enough" blast

Mikel Arteta has suggested his Arsenal players need more training in the aftermath of Thursday's 2-0 home defeat by West Ham.

The Gunners put in one of their worst displays of the season when the Hammers came to the Emirates. Tomas Soucek opened the scoring in controversial circumstances, with Arsenal players insisting the ball had gone out prior to Jarrod Bowen's cut-back. However, after a VAR check that took longer than three minutes, referee Michael Oliver confirmed the goal had been given.

Arsenal piled on the pressure for the remainder of the first half, but failed to create many clear chances and were often wasteful in possession. The killer blow came in the second half, when ex-Gunner Konstantinos Mavropanos rose highest to head home from a James Ward-Prowse corner.

At that point, the hosts were well and truly chasing the game but again, failed to make West Ham sweat for the three points. The majority of Alphonse Areola's saves were comfortable catches, rather than sensational stops.

Come full-time, Arteta cut a frustrated figure during his post-match media duties and was pressed for comment on whether he'd be looking to make any additions in the January transfer window. The Arsenal boss took the opportunity to instead comment on the players he already had and how they need more time on the training ground.

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“What we have is the players that we have, it’s the players that I love the most," the Spaniard explained. "What we have to do is try to get better situations, and more training, put them there and raise their confidence and that’s it because they have done it."

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Arsenal failed to break West Ham down and lost 2-0

Arteta's comments were not as harsh as those from his captain Martin Odegaard, who was one of the few players to come away from the clash with any credit. The Gunners skipper made clear he felt the performance was not at the level required.

"I think we created more than enough to score goals to win the game and it was the little details and the little last pass or the finish that was missing today.," Odegaard claimed. "We have to learn from it and make sure we get sharper and better in front of the goals.

"The goals we conceded were too easy, so definitely in front of the goals, inside the boxes, that’s where the games are decided. “We weren’t good enough today."

Josh O'Brien