In a thrilling encounter against Fulham, Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, emphasized the need for an unwavering “over my dead body” mindset within the team after they settled for a 2-2 draw.
The Gunners, aiming to solidify their Premier League standing, dropped points as they faced off against 10-man Fulham.
Despite their valiant efforts, Arsenal conceded an early goal to Andreas Pereira, trailing 1-0 in less than a minute. The team, however, demonstrated resilience with Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah netting goals, pushing the score to 2-1 in their favor.
An 83rd-minute red card for Fulham’s Calvin Bassey seemed to favor Arsenal, but the 10-man opposition managed to clinch a point through Joao Palhinha’s late strike.
Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, Arteta expressed his frustration with the outcome, citing the numerous missed opportunities that could have yielded a more decisive victory.
It is really difficult to accept that we haven’t won the game. Obviously we made life really hard for ourselves giving the goal away in the first minute, but after that, the team had the response that we all expected.
We dominated the game from the start to the finish and we generated I cannot remember how many big chances and how many situations. We gave absolutely nothing to the opponent and got back into the game and scored the second one, and then the game has to finish there.
He stressed the importance of not only creating chances but also defending resolutely, particularly when facing a corner kick. The draw puts Arsenal in a challenging position as they face upcoming fixtures against Manchester United and Everton, followed by the highly anticipated North London derby against Tottenham.
