Mikel Arteta shares what he's now told Arsenal's players in the dressing room after Sporting loss

By Lee Connor

Mikel Arteta was disappointed to see his Arsenal side go out of the Europa League to Sporting Lisbon at The Emirates last night.

Penalties were needed and in the end it was a miss from Gabriel Martinelli that put Arsenal out of the competition.

For the Gunners, it was a disappointing end to what has been a solid Europa League campaign. Of course, it does mean they can turn attentions to the Premier League, where they sit top of the table.

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Speaking in his press conference after the Sporting game last night, Mikel Arteta was questioned on what he told his players in the dressing room.

And rather than being too downbeat, Arteta explained how he’d told his players the focus is now firmly on Crystal Palace this weekend.

“Just that we are all disappointed and we have to look ourselves. There are things we have to do better to have bigger margins to win the game and not rely on the last 20 minutes or extra time or a penalty shootout to go through in the competition,” Arteta said.

“Now there are 11 games and that’s the only focus that we have and everybody is thinking about one thing, that’s Palace, and being in the best mental and physical condition, a lot of clarity and all the energy is there for Sunday.”

TBR’s View: Arsenal must show they can bounce back

The Gunners know that a win this weekend will put the penalty defeat firmly to bed. Interestingly, it now won’t be against Patrick Vieira, who was sacked by Palace this morning.

Mikel Arteta will be keen to see just how his players react here. There’s plenty for them to be upbeat about, and they cannot let a European exit derail their season.

Arsenal have bounced back before this season. And a game against Palace, who can’t score at the moment, gives them the ideal chance to rebound again.