04 February 2023 , 15:15
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Mikel Arteta refused to slam his Arsenal players following their shock 1-0 loss to relegation-battling Everton on Saturday.
James Tarkowski's 60th-minute header was enough to give the Toffees their first Premier League win in 105 days, lifting them out of the drop zone in Sean Dyche's first game as manager. For Arteta and Co, the defeat at a raucous Goodison Park was only their second top-flight loss of the season, following a 3-1 slump at Manchester United exactly five months ago.
Arsenal huffed and puffed, with in-form striker Eddie Nketiah and captain Martin Odegaard both squandering chances to extend the Gunners' lead at the top of the Premier League table to more than five points, as well as avoiding a second successive defeat in all competitions following last Friday's 1-0 loss to title rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup. Post-match, Arteta lamented his players' "purpose and quality in the final third," despite boasting 70 per cent of the possession, but maintained his pride for them.
"Today I love them much better than the week before or a month ago," the Gunners boss affirmed to BT Sport. "It is easy to be next to someone when they are winning well. I am still so proud of all of these players, they deserve it. This is not going to be a rose pathway. This is going to be tricky and we will have to dig in and play much better than we did today."
Arteta went on to say: "We had loads of the ball but we lacked that purpose and quality in the final third, we generated many chances. But then we conceded and they slowed the game down and we struggled. They do this to every team that is their strength with the height, the physicality is their strength, if you want to control the game against them you have to control this."
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Dyche, on the other hand, was delighted with his team's display, hailing their commitment after turbulent fortnight on the blue half of Merseyside. "It's all about the players and they are the focal point for me," the former Burnley boss began, having replaced Frank Lampard on Monday. "They have taken a lot on this week. The minimum requirement is maximum effort and we saw that today.
Mikel Arteta suffered only his second league loss of the season (Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)Have your say! Will Arsenal win the Premier League after this result? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
"[The players] have been in a position where it has not been nice for anyone. I still believe we can improve with our play. To get a win against top of the league... we managed to calm the game down. I want to them to understand the basics of the game."
Match-winner Tarkowski added: "It has been tough for us and the fans and for all the staff in the club. Hopefully this is the turning point, there's a lot of talent here. What a great time to [score] and a great day. It's back to work on Monday and we crack on. We've lacked that little bit of grit at times and that's what the fans want. We've seen what it's all about today."