Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal are “not going to give up” in the title race after the “shock” dominance of Manchester City at the Etihad on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola’s side were in complete control throughout, with Kevin De Bruyne scoring a brace either side of a John Stones header, before Erling Haaland added his 49th of the season with the last kick of the game in the 4-1 win.
Rob Holding’s goal was one of few moments of attacking note for Arteta’s side, who were torn apart at the back by Haaland and De Bruyne in particular, who showed their counterparts who’s boss.
Arteta said after the game that the game was a “shock” but admitted City were clearly superior.
He said: “You have to accept the better team won the game. The way we started, we didn’t do the basics right, we didn’t compete in the right way.
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“We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and be fair. When that team plays at that level it’s extremely difficult to stay up.
“We weren’t at our level. It’s a concern. When you’re fighting for a championship [to do that].
“It’s not about fight. It’s about the competitiveness in this kind of game. We never generated any momentum in the game.
“We’ve been doing that for nine and a half months [challenging]. We’re not going to throw it away because we lost one game. We have to lift all our players. It was a shock.
“Today is a very difficult night after the way we lost. But we have to stand up and look at the bigger picture and the fact we are competing toe-to-toe with this team it’s incredible.
“We are going to want to compete and we are not going to give up. There are five games to go in this league and anything can happen.
“I’ve seen a lot of things and I’ve been here more than 20 years and you have to believe that while tonight it is difficult, we have to look in the mirror and accept that we have lost against an exceptional team and that’s it.”
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