Following Arsenal’s loss to West Ham in the Premier League, manager Mikel Arteta emphasizes the pressing need for the team to enhance their performance.

Mikel Arteta has expressed his disappointment with Arsenal’s performance following their 2-0 defeat to West Ham at home. The match was not without controversy, as there was a lengthy review for West Ham’s opening goal, with VAR unable to prove that the ball was out of play.

Despite this setback, West Ham went on to score a second goal through former Arsenal defender Konstaninos Mavropanos, and they even had a late penalty chance missed by Said Benrahma.

This defeat means that Arsenal missed the opportunity to reclaim the top spot in the Premier League title race as they head into the new year. On the other hand, West Ham find themselves four points away from the top four, as they aim to build on their success in the UEFA Europa Conference League last season.

Arteta spoke to the BBC after the match and acknowledged that his team needs to step up their efforts. He did not dwell on the controversial decision to allow West Ham’s opener, stating, “We want to be at the top and today we are very, very disappointed. We had so much dominance in the game. We are in a really good position. Today is a disappointing night. We have to pick ourselves up for a big game against Fulham.”

When asked about the contentious goal, Arteta accepted the situation, saying, “It is what it is. The technology we have at the moment is not clear enough if the ball is out.”

With another game against Fulham on the horizon, Arteta emphasized the need for improvement, stating, “We dominated for 100 minutes. When we had big situations, we had players inside the box totally free. I think the players put an enormous effort in. It’s a difficult dressing room right now but we have another game in 72 hours. This is football, we have to improve in certain areas.”