‘Earn the right’: Arteta delivers brutally honest verdict on Arsenal’s ‘unacceptable’ performance last night

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta faced the media last night after his side suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

It was always going to be a difficult game for the Gunners but their brilliant recent form, which saw them win five away games on the bounce, made many believe they could get the job done.

However, Arsenal were really poor last night, especially in the first half. They just couldn’t get a grip of the game and made way too many mistakes that deserved punishing.

Arteta was quizzed about the performance and the Arsenal boss was brutally honest. He claimed that his side deserved to take nothing away from the game after a first-half as bad as that one.

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Mikel Arteta: Arsenal didn’t earn the right to play vs Crystal Palace

The Spaniard said after the game, as per Arsenal.com: “Yes (it was a poor performance), especially in the first half. But, first of all, congratulations to Crystal Palace for winning the match and the way that they performed, but we weren’t at the races today, especially in the first half.

“We were late to every ball, we were soft in the duels and we didn’t earn the right to play, and when we did a little bit we were sloppy on the ball.

“We didn’t have any dominance or sequences of play when we could take control of the game and we conceded two poor goals as well, so overall it’s unacceptable.

“We need to put our hands up, apologise, regroup, and tomorrow is a new day and a new opportunity to prepare for the game against Brighton.”

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TBR View:

Arteta is absolutely spot on.

Arsenal’s performance last night, especially in the first half, was unacceptable for a side aiming to be in the Champions League next season. They just couldn’t get going, which is a shame considering how good they have recently been.

The defeat last night means Spurs keep hold of the fourth spot for the time being but Arsenal do still have a game in hand over their fierce North London rivals.

Arsenal face Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday and a win there is an absolute necessity.

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