"HE'S RIGHT!" — MIKEL ARTETA’S HUMBLE RESPONSE TO PATRICK VIEIRA’S BRUTAL MENTAL STRENGTH WARNING
Mikel Arteta responds to Patrick Vieira’s claims of poor mental strength after Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester United.
Mikel Arteta didn’t take issue with Patrick Vieira, Arsenal’s former captain, for questioning his team’s mental strength after their Premier League title hopes took a big hit against Manchester United.
Losing 3-2 at the Emirates made it three league games without a win for Arsenal. Their lead at the top is now just four points after a tough weekend, with both Manchester City and Aston Villa picking up wins.
It looked like Arsenal were on track for an easy victory after Lisandro Martinez’s own goal in the 29th minute put them ahead. But after that, you could see the pressure starting to get to them.
Martin Zubimendi made a costly mistake that handed Bryan Mbeumo an equaliser before halftime. Then, Patrick Dorgu smashed in a wild shot off the bar to put United ahead.
Mikel Merino came off the bench and managed to bundle in an equaliser, and for a moment, it felt like Arsenal might snatch the win.
But then they fell apart again. Matheus Cunha fired in a stunning winner from distance. After the game, Sky Sports pundit and three-time title winner Vieira said, “There are questions about the mental strength of the team.”
When reporters asked Arteta about Vieira’s comments, he shrugged them off. “That’s fine. We accept every opinion, especially coming from someone like him. They have every reason to say it. In the end, we have to prove our mental strength on the pitch when it matters.”
Zubimendi’s mistake flipped the game on its head, and you could tell it bothered Arteta. There wasn’t much pressure on Zubimendi when he turned and, out of nowhere, played the ball right across his own goal and straight to Mbeumo. Mbeumo coolly rounded David Raya and scored his ninth of the season.
“I thought we started really well—the first half hour, we were dominant,” Arteta said. “But then we handed them a goal. Mistakes happen in football, but that was out of character for us. We gave them a goal and hope, and that changed everything. After halftime, we really struggled, especially to keep the ball in the right areas.
“In the second half, they scored two fantastic goals—some real individual quality and magic moments. We managed to equalise, and you could feel the momentum shift. The game was there to be won.”
On the other side, United’s interim boss, Michael Carrick, now has two wins from his first two games, after last week’s victory over Manchester City at Old Trafford.
“I just think we managed the game well,” Carrick said. “At times, we had to dig in and ride out the pressure. But we also wanted to take control when we could.
“When you play away in these big games, you need to settle things down and find some control. I think we did that as the match wore on.
“The goals were brilliant, some of the football was really good, and we looked dangerous at times. Other times, we had to defend our lives. It was a bit of everything, really.”
ARTETA HITS BACK: ARSENAL BOSS UNAPOLOGETIC ABOUT "RUTHLESS" CORNER TACTICS BEFORE BRIGHTON CLASH
Mikel Arteta isn't backing down! Read about Arsenal's record-tying corner goals and the "time-wasting" row with Brighton's Hurzeler.
Mikel Arteta isn’t losing sleep over the criticism of Arsenal’s set-piece tactics, even after Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler stirred things up before their Wednesday clash by taking a few shots at Arsenal’s style. Set pieces have become a big deal in the Premier League this season, and honestly, Arsenal are running the show. That kind of dominance is bound to ruffle some feathers.
Sunday’s win over Chelsea made it pretty clear that both Arsenal goals came from corners. That puts them at 19 set-piece goals in 29 league games, five more than Newcastle and a whopping 12 ahead of Brighton. Brighton might not score as many from set pieces, but they’re tough to break down, having conceded just five set-piece goals, the best defensive record in the league.
This whole debate blew up again after Liverpool’s Arne Slot complained that set pieces are ruining the flow of matches, making games less fun to watch. Stats back it up: nearly 28% of Premier League goals this season have come from non-penalty set pieces, the highest since 2009-10.
Hurzeler didn’t hold back when asked for his take on Tuesday. He pointed fingers at Arsenal, saying set pieces mess with the game’s rhythm and that there aren’t clear rules about how long teams can take for corners or throw-ins. “Some of the blocking or the way teams are blocking, there’s no clear rule; sometimes it’s a foul, sometimes it’s not,” he said. His main gripe? He wants clear rules on how much time teams can waste. “When Arsenal are leading and have a corner, sometimes they take over a minute just to kick the ball. We end up with 50 minutes of actual game time instead of 65. The difference is huge.”
He added, “Fans pay a lot to watch us play. They want to see football, not 40 minutes of standing around while the ball isn’t in play.”
Arteta faced the criticism in his press conference. When asked if he thinks other teams would love to be as ruthless on set pieces as Arsenal, he didn’t hesitate. “I want us to be the best. I get frustrated that we don’t score more and that we still concede, too,” he said. “We want to dominate every part of the game. That’s our goal as a team and as a club. So let’s keep pushing.”
And as for the critics? Arteta just shrugged: “Part of the job.”
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William Saliba and Jurrien Timber headers secured a vital win for Arsenal as Chelsea finished with ten men at the Emirates.
Arsenal found the net twice from corners and let one in the same way, a clear sign of just how much set pieces matter in the Premier League these days.
William Saliba got Arsenal going with his first goal since December, putting them ahead at the Emirates. But Arsenal didn’t hold the lead for long. Just before halftime, Piero Hincapie scored an own goal from one of Reece James’ wicked corners, pulling Chelsea level.
After the break, Timber popped up with a crucial header, sealing three points for Arsenal. Things got worse for Chelsea when Pedro Neto saw red for a second yellow.
With this win, Arsenal’s second in a row, they stretched their lead over Manchester City back to five points. City still has a game in hand after edging Leeds 1-0 on Saturday, but Arsenal keeps the pressure on.
People were starting to question Arsenal’s nerve after a rough patch that reopened the title race. But they’ve bounced back at just the right time. Last weekend, they smashed Tottenham 4-1. This time, they ground out a much tighter victory.
Now, Arsenal heads to Brighton on Wednesday, with just nine games left as they chase their first league title since 2004.
They’re still fighting on all fronts, too: League Cup final, Champions League last 16, and FA Cup fifth round. And here’s a break for Arteta: they only have one more league game against a top-six side, and it’s a big one: a trip to Manchester City on April 18.
For Chelsea, things are going the other way. That’s three games without a win, and their Champions League hopes just took another hit. They’re down to sixth, and they’ve now lost to Arsenal three times since Liam Rosenior took charge.
Chelsea almost handed Arsenal an early present when Robert Sanchez, under pressure from Viktor Gyokeres, nearly fumbled the ball away. Somehow, he recovered just in time.
But Sanchez looked shaky again soon after, and Rosenior could only watch in disbelief. Arsenal sensed blood and struck first, using one of the set-piece coach Nicolas Jover’s clever routines. Gabriel Magalhaes rose above everyone to head Bukayo Saka’s corner across the six-yard box, where Saliba finished it off, though it needed a deflection off Mamadou Sarr to find the net.
Set pieces are haunting Rosenior’s Chelsea. That’s eight goals conceded from dead balls in his first 13 matches; four of those were against Arsenal alone.
Chelsea did hit back, though. Right before the break, Reece James’ corner bounced off Declan Rice’s shoulder, forcing a sharp save from David Raya. Arsenal didn’t heed the warning. From the next corner, James whipped it in again, and Hincapie headed it into his own net.
The danger didn’t stop there. James kept swinging corners in, and Joao Pedro missed two decent chances, one straight at Raya and another wide of the mark.
Those missed chances cost Chelsea. In the 66th minute, Arsenal struck again from a corner. Timber timed his run perfectly and headed home from Rice’s delivery. Chelsea shouted for a foul on Sanchez, but the goal stood.
That’s 16 goals from corners for Arsenal this season. Their fans loved it, singing, “Set-piece again, ole, ole.”
Not long after, Neto lost his cool, clattering Gabriel Martinelli and picking up a second yellow. That left Chelsea with ten men for the final stretch.
Arsenal still needed one more big save from Raya in stoppage time to deny Alejandro Garnacho, but once that danger passed, the celebration really began.
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