Mikel Arteta makes brutal top 4 admission after Arsenal’s crushing loss to Olympiakos in the Europa League round of 32.
Arsenal believed that they had qualified for the round of 16 stages of the Europa League when Aubameyang scored a stunning bicycle kick 7 minutes from full time. However, Olympiakos would go on to take advantage of some shoddy defending and scored 6 minutes later.
Also read: Aubameyang’s night went from ecstatic to tragic as the Arsenal forward missed a sitter from 6 yards
With that goal, the match ended with an aggregate score of 2-2. However, the visitors 2 goals at London saw them through to the next stage. Arsenal will now have to rely solely on the Premier League if they intend to make a return to the Champions league next season.
Mikel Arteta makes brutal top 4 admission after Arsenal’s loss to Olympiakos in the Europa League
Arsenal are currently sitting on 9th place and are 7 points behind 4th place Chelsea. The race for the top 4 is nearing the final stages and Mikel Arteta is well aware of the uphill task he has on his hands following the dramatic loss on Thursday night.
“Very hard because looking at the table we’re still far from the objectives that we all have, but we’ve been far all season from it and we have to keep fighting,” Arteta told reporters after the match when asked about the possibility of reaching the top four.
“The most important thing now is that the dressing room has to be strong and we have to keep going and react. First of all, I have to convince them about what happened in the game and why they are not through in the tie.
“If they continue to do that, there will be rewards like we have done in the last 10 games that we played.”
Arteta added:
“I just want to concentrate now on lifting those players and getting back the belief, and convince them that there is still a lot to play for, and move on.
“It’s part of this sport that a big disappointment can happen and it happened. We have to learn and react as a team and as a club.”
Click here for more football news
