Arteta demands better from his players

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has had enough of his players’ disciplinary carelessness that has seen them play with ten men multiple times this season. The Gunners suffered a serious 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth over the weekend after William Saliba picked a red card in the first half. It was Arsenal’s third red card in the Premier League this season, with Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard having been sent off earlier in the season.
Arteta addressed the issue in a pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League fixture against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday. He said, “Playing with 10 men always is an issue. The truth is, when you analyse it, three different very actions and the outcome of them, the reasons are very different.
“Regardless of that, we cannot continue to play with 10 men at this level. We need to eradicate that, it’s clear. The reasons, how; it doesn’t matter. We have to focus.”
Arsenal’s loss to Bournemouth over the weekend was their first this season, allowing Manchester City to overtake them in the standings. Rice was sent off during Arsenal’s draw with Brighton in late August while Trossard was shown red in the showdown with Man City in September. In both games, Arteta’s men scrambled a draw. However, Arteta wants his players to draw motivation from the “pain” for their next round of games. He said, “We cannot continue to play with ten men, easier to say it then to get it done. Specific moments. Reacting, we have a defeat. Very specific conditions as well.
“Let’s move on, take that pain we have and use it tomorrow night.”
Fans would hope the Gunners bounce back from their weekend defeat when they host Shakhtar at the Emirates on Tuesday night.