Bees had us on our knees, admits new boy Ben
ARSENAL HORROR SHOW MARS DEBUT
ARSENAL new boy Ben White summed up the club’s disastrous start to the season by admitting they were rubbish at both ends of the park at Brentford.
Goals either side of the break from Bees pair Sergi Canos and Christian Norgaard ensured it was a miserable Friday the 13th in west London for Mikel Arteta’s men.
After the 2-0 defeat, which cranks up the heat on their Spanish boss, £50million England defender White was suitably downbeat. Asked where it had all gone wrong at the Brentford Community Stadium, the former Brighton centre-half pulled no punches.
White said: “It’s both boxes, isn’t it? If you don’t score goals and you concede – that’s where it got away from us.
“It’s obviously a disappointing start. I think we created some chances and could have had some goals – but we didn’t and they did.”
White, watched by England boss Gareth Southgate, did not cover himself in glory as a dream Arsenal debut turned sour.
He was part of a static Gunners defence that watched
Danish midfielder Norgaard head in the Bees’ killer second after 73 minutes.
White groaned: “Obviously, it’s an unbelievable feeling that’s been clouded by the result.”
Blame
Emirates supremo Arteta was in no mood to mince his words post-match either.
He refused to blame the late withdrawal of skipper Pierreemerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette – through illness – for a toothless display that suggests another turbulent campaign ahead.
A lack of cutting edge was evident throughout and must be addressed urgently before their next two league outings... against Chelsea and Manchester City.
Arteta conceded: “The biggest worry is how many times we arrived in great positions in the final third but there wasn’t enough threat or any shots on target.
“If you don’t do either of these, it’s very difficult to win in the Premier League.
“I don’t want to hide. There are no excuses. We didn’t do the basic things well enough to beat them.
“In the box, in good positions, we need to be more ruthless.”