Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has insisted his side still have a realistic chance of winning the 2025/26 Premier League, despite their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
After the match, he told Sky Sports that the difference between the two teams was minimal, but individual efficiency and quality decided the key moments.
“When you don’t take the chances and they have the individual quality, that’s the risk – because you lose the game. I don’t think there was a difference between the two teams. There’s also an element of luck, whether the ball goes in or not. On the second goal, the ball is deflected and ends up with Haaland. Then there’s the individual quality: being calm, precise and ruthless. You have to be there,” Arteta said.
He also praised the team’s reaction until the end of the match, saying that Arsenal took the game to where they had planned.
“We did that completely. You could see the attitude of the team until the end. At some points we could have been calmer, but we still took the game to the areas we wanted. We knew we had a great chance to win it,” he added.
Although he admitted Arsenal missed a big opportunity, Arteta stressed that the race is not over yet.
“We were close, but not close enough. Now we have to recover. Today we missed an opportunity – a big one. But there are still five games left. There are still a lot of positives from this performance,” he concluded.
Arsenal currently have a three-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table, but the Citizens can move into first place if they win their remaining match against Burnley.
