Mikel Arteta was a dejected man on the touchline. Credit: AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth
A dejected Mikel Arteta apologized to Arsenal fans after the club's title dream nearly ended with a crushing home defeat to Brighton.
Arsenal's 3-0 defeat in front of their own fans means Manchester City, who thrashed Everton earlier in the day, are now just one win away from winning their fifth league title in six seasons.
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City could even become this season's champions ahead of their next league match against Chelsea on Sunday if Arsenal lose to Nottingham Forest on Saturday night.
«We have to apologize to our people, especially for the second half,» Arteta, Arsenal's head coach, said. “I hate the feeling of letting people down when they are waiting for something. This is the biggest regret I have today and I must apologize for it.»
Martin Odegaard, Arsenal captain, admitted that there was «no hope» for the players to overtake City as he said he couldn't explain the collapse of the team in the second half.
In the second half, the visitors scored three times through Julio Enciso, Deniz Undava and Purvis Estupinan to bolster their European drive and encourage Roberto De Zerbi, their head coach, to kneel in celebration at the Emirates pitch.< /p>
Asked if Arsenal's title dream is over, Ødegaard replied: «Yes, it looks like it. Now it will be very difficult, we have to be honest. It's hard to accept.
"Now a bad feeling. How we played, especially in the second half, I don't know what happened. There seems to be no hope now.
Martin Odegaard thanks Arsenal fans for losing to Brighton. Photo: Getty Images/David Price
Arsenal have only won two of their last seven league matches, allowing Manchester City to overtake them in the standings. Arteta said it would take him a few days to «digest» his side's performance and admitted that his side had «no answers» to Brighton's goals.
“In the second half we lost some things, we lost focus,” he said. “The game has become really difficult. At the moment it's just a disappointment — the feeling that we gave up the game in the second half.
“We have fought very hard to be where we are and today we were at a critical juncture to keep hoping and digging for that dream. When you have to play in such moments, you can't do what we did in the second half.
“We have to look [at the causes]. If the team is able to do that when it comes to the biggest stage, there are a lot of things to analyze and think about because it can't happen. I am responsible for what happened today. My job is to get the most out of every person we have.”
De Zerbi's wild celebrations, which included a sprint along the touchline, led to immediate comparisons with José Mourinho, but the Italian denied this. there was any influence from previous coaches.
«Mourinho is a great coach, but I have character and passion with Mourinho and without Mourinho,» he said. “I am very pleased with the performance. We deserved to win.”
Undaw said after the match that De Zerby had been showing his players videos of basketball legend Michael Jordan in recent days following their shock loss to Everton last week.
Responding to a question about this motivational video, De Zerby said, “Undav talks too much. I don't like basketball, but I like the champion mentality in all sports. If I can learn something from the great champions, I really want to do it. I want to dream. I'm used to giving everything in my work. I live my work. I always want to achieve impossible goals. I want to lock the target very high and if I lose, I lose. And we're starting stronger again.”
Brighton is currently moving towards a place in the Europa League, overtaking Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa with this win.
“We have four more games to play and our goal is to win every game,” De Zerby said. “I think it's very difficult. We may not win all four, but I think we have earned the right to enter Europe.”
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