on the performance…
We made it difficult for ourselves because we had quite a good start but we defended horrendously for the first and second goals. Everybody involved was included for the first and the second goals. On top of that we conceded a second goal with 10 men on the pitch.
It took us too much time to change and it was absolutely unbelievable. We conceded the first when Arteta was out and we could not put the player on because he is not ready. That penalised us for the second goal and after that we had a mountain to climb.
I felt in the first half we had enough chances to come back to 2-2, but the second half we dropped our level, lost our team play, our cohesion and tried too much individually. There was not enough petrol left in the tank anymore. We didn't see anyone who could make a difference. They defended well. We had a tremendous amount of possession but didn't create a lot in the second half.
on the Arteta substitution…
It is the fact that when a player is injured, if he stays on the pitch you have time to bring [a replacement] on. It was a misunderstanding because he walked off and Ramsey was not ready. The players think they will not come on in the first half, so they are not ready. Basically we played with 10 men, which should not be the case when a player is injured. Arteta had to come off but if he sits down on the pitch he can come off as well.
on Arteta's injury…
It is an ankle problem. It looks quite a serious one. We have to scan it tomorrow, it is too early to say tonight. But it doesn't look a little ankle sprain. It is a serious one.
on the second-half display…
We have given a lot over the past two or three months and we were not sharp. Is it mental or physical? It is hard to know why. I felt in the first half we had quite a good response to being 2-0 down, but in the second half there was not a lot to come. We finished with Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Rosicky, Gervinho and Van Persie offensively and we didn't create a lot.
on the strength of the Premier League...
Everyone is in the same situation. You could see with Tottenham against Norwich, Manchester United at Wigan, us against Wigan. You have to realise that every game is a decisive moment for everybody. You have to be prepared not to be 1-0 down, to be 2-0 down, not like that. When you see the goals we conceded recently, we did not concede these kinds of mistakes.
on the Chelsea game...
It is a massive and vital game for us. We need to recover from the massive disappointment of tonight first, then prepare mentally for the next one.
Source: Arsenal.com on 16 Apr 12
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