Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has declared that he is responsible for his team’s Carabao Cup defeat at the hands of West Ham United on Wednesday night.
The Gunners would have fancied their chances of lifting the trophy this season, having not won it since 1993, after Manchester City’s surprise elimination in the previous round.
But David Moyes’ West Ham had other ideas at the London Stadium. The Hammers took an early lead through Ben White’s own goal, before Mohammed Kudus doubled that advantage early in the second half and Jarrod Bowen put the hosts out of sight at the hour mark.
Arsenal did pull one back through Martin Odegaard, but not until the 96th minute.
The result came only days after Arteta’s side had demolished Sheffield United, scoring five goals without reply, to go second in the Premier League table.
“I’m really disappointed and I am responsible for that,” Arteta told Sky Sports, reflecting on the defeat in east London. “It wasn’t good enough. We didn’t compete good enough. I tried to warn [the players] for 48 hours what was coming and how important it was going to be.
“Overall we were nowhere near the level we needed to show. This is football and every game is different. What happened a few days ago [against Sheffield United] is in the bin and in the past.
“We didn’t threaten enough. I wanted to see much more from my team. There is a lot to improve. The thing we have to take from the game today is how are we going to use this to beat Newcastle on Saturday. Feeling the pain. That’s what we have to do now.”
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