Mikel Arteta has emphasized the need for Arsenal to maintain their composure when closing out matches, following a tense 2-1 victory against Brighton at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The Gunners clinched an important victory that returned them to the top of the Premier League, but only after withstanding a late surge from Brighton. The match saw Martin Ødegaard score his first goal of the season, complemented by an own goal from Georginio Rutter, before Diego Gómez halved the deficit with a goal in the 64th minute.
Arsenal’s goalkeeper David Raya made a crucial one-handed save to thwart a shot from substitute Yankuba Minteh in the 76th minute, enabling Arsenal to secure another hard-fought win, adding to recent victories over Wolves and Crystal Palace.
“When you concede in the last minute, as we did in the previous match against [Crystal] Palace, where they scored with their first shot, it is obviously frustrating,” Arteta commented.
“We need to navigate such situations with composure, recognizing that if we don’t manage the game efficiently against our opponents, we must be solid defensively. This is crucial.” Arteta also noted, “Our desire to win can sometimes lead to a fear of losing our advantage.”
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“We need to keep pushing for more goals and maintain that composure and skill to secure our wins. We should have scored a third goal today.”
Arteta also mentioned that Riccardo Calafiori suffered a muscle injury during warm-ups, while Jurriën Timber had to be substituted due to an unspecified issue during Friday’s training.