Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed that he bears responsibility for the Carabao Cup loss that his club suffered on Wednesday night against West Ham United.
After Manchester City’s unexpected elimination in the previous round, the Gunners would have been optimistic about their chances of winning the trophy this season, having not done so since 1993.
At the London Stadium, though, West Ham under David Moyes had other plans. Ben White gave the Hammers the lead early on with an own goal. Mohammed Kudus then doubled the lead early in the second half, and Jarrod Bowen put the hosts out of sight just after the hour mark.
Martin Odegaard did give Arsenal a response, but it took until the 96th minute.
Days had passed since Arteta’s team destroyed Sheffield United, scoring five goals without answering to take second place in the Premier League standings.
“I’m really disappointed and I am responsible for that,” Arteta told Sky Sports, reflecting on the defeat in east London. “It wasn’t good enough. We didn’t compete good enough. I tried to warn [the players] for 48 hours what was coming and how important it was going to be.
“Overall we were nowhere near the level we needed to show. This is football and every game is different. What happened a few days ago [against Sheffield United] is in the bin and in the past.
“We didn’t threaten enough. I wanted to see much more from my team. There is a lot to improve. The thing we have to take from the game today is how are we going to use this to beat Newcastle on Saturday. Feeling the pain. That’s what we have to do now.”