Mikel Arteta bemoaned the fact that his Arsenal stars weren’t able to continue dominating the match against West Ham as they did at the start.
The Gunners gifted their two-goal lead as David Moyes’ Hammers came from behind to secure a draw at the London Stadium on Sunday.
Gabriel Jesus handed the north London club the lead as the Brazil striker finished off a well-worked team move in the 7th minute.
And three minutes later, captain Martin Odegaard doubled the lead with a close-range effort, finishing off a superb cross from left-back Kieran Tierney.
However, the momentum swung when Said Benrahma reduced the deficit from the penalty spot. England forward Bukayo Saka had the chance to hand Arsenal a 3-1 lead but his effort from the penalty spot went wide.
And moments later, Jarrod Bowen completed West Ham’s comeback with a left foot shot, denting the Gunners' title hopes.
The Gunners gave The Hammers hope.
Speaking to BBC 5 Live after both sides shared the spoils, Arteta said: “We started incredibly well, dominated the game, dominated the pitch, and scored two beautiful goals. After that, we made a huge mistake; not to continue playing, to score the third and the fourth.
“We started keeping the ball and giving sloppy passes away. We allowed them [West Ham] transition moments, and did not dominate the direct play. And then it's game on. If you concede the goals that we conceded, the first one and the second one, and on top of that you don't score a penalty, in this league you are in big trouble.”
Arteta also spoke about how his team gave West Ham hope to get back into the game.
“It's the story of the game,” the Spaniard said. “The penalty of course is a game changer, in that moment, because two minutes later you concede a goal. But how we have to behave after 2-0 is very different to what we did, and on top of that we conceded two very sloppy goals.
When asked if the Gunners were 'too comfortable,' he replied: “I think so. Too comfortable just playing around them. And when a team is there [for the taking], you have to take that opportunity. We gave them hope.
“Credit to West Ham, because they realised there was something [to play for], and they grabbed it with both hands. They were really aggressive, really direct, and they caused us problems.”
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