Areta: We didn’t deserve to win
MAN UNITED STUMBLE AGAIN AT EVERTON AS CHELSEA TOP PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said his side did not deserve to win following a toothless attacking display in a 0-0 draw away to Brighton & Hove Albion yesterday, but the Spaniard took some comfort from a solid defensive performance.
Manchester United were held at home by Everton after Cristiano Ronaldo was dropped to the subs bench as Chelsea scored two late goals against Southampton to top the Premier League table.
Elsewhere, Leeds beat Watford for their first league win of the season while Norwich avoided defeat for the first time during the campaign.
After a thrilling 3-1 win over bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur last week, Arsenal were brought back to earth with a bump as Graham Potter’s side mesmerised them at times with the kind of free-flowing football Arteta would dearly love to see from his team.
Brighton had a total of 21 attempts, but only two of them were on target as Arsenal defended doggedly, and although Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit a post with a first-half header, their blunt performance in possession is a cause for concern.
“(The header) was probably the only open situation in the first half, and we were unlucky not to score it. I don’t think we deserved to win the game, we have to take the draw with the performance we had today and improve,” Arteta told the BBC.
The Gunners improved after the break and had a decent 10-minute spell late in the game, but other than that they looked lost as they sought to create chances of their own.
“We didn’t make enough right decisions, every time there was a duel where we could escape pressure and attack open spaces we came up short and against this structure we had to do better,” Arteta said.
His defenders did well to keep up with Brighton’s fluid, intelligent attacking football, and although they came under pressure at set pieces, they often managed to get blocks in or force their hosts to shoot from distance.
“We have conceded one goal in the last five games which is really positive ... we can now focus on the things we are doing well and work on the ones we need to improve,” Arteta said.
Unimpressive run
United’s 1-1 draw at Old Trafford continues an unimpressive run of home results including a League Cup defeat by West Ham and last week’s shock Premier League loss at the hands of Aston Villa.
Ronaldo has scored five times in six games in all competitions since rejoining the club in late August but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he did not regret resting the 36-year-old — who scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner against Villarreal in midweek. “You make decisions throughout the season, you’ve got to manage the players’ workload,” said the Norwegian manager. “The decision was, for me, the correct one today.”
“We have started better than last season, but it is still not what we wanted.”
Chelsea strike late
Chelsea ended a miserable week on a high, with Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell striking late in a 3-1 win against Southampton, who are still without a league victory this season.
The three points lifted the Stamford Bridge club to the top of the Premier League on 16 points, two clear of Liverpool, Manchester United and Everton.
Thomas Tuchel’s side, tipped by many to win the Premier League in the early weeks of the season, were well beaten by Manchester City last week and lost to Juventus in the Champions League in midweek.
But they returned to winning ways in London on Saturday, helped by a second-half red card for Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse.
“After two defeats we had to be careful that we didn’t start being too sad or too worried because there was a chance to be on 16 points,” Tuchel told the BBC.
“It was important to have a better performance than the last two games.”