Arteta says ‘we are a long way from the team we are supposed to be’

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said that his team is a long way from the team they are supposed to be. 

The Gunners lost to Aston Villa 3-0 at the Emirates right before the international break. They were outplayed in every department from start to finish and in all honesty, Villa were unlucky not to win by a larger margin. Arsenal looked bereft of ideas and were unable to keep pace with Dean Smith’s side for the majority of the game.

The North London side have won 10 of their first 14 games of the season. They have suffered four defeats and all four have come in the Premier League. The Gunners are 11th in the league table, six points off the top. They have had a challenging schedule that has seen them go to Anfield, the Etihad and Old Trafford in the first eight games of the season. Defeats to Leicester and Aston Villa at the Emirates have put a dent in the optimism felt by Gooners so far this season.

The primary challenge facing Arsenal seems to be their lack of creativity. In games against teams who are willing to sit behind the ball, the Gunners are unable to find that killer pass and generate real goal scoring opportunities. 

Arteta has cited the fact that the club has faced a number of challenges in the last few months due to the changes that have taken place both on and off the pitch in terms of personnel and structure.

On how far along his team is, Arteta said:

“We’re a long way, I’m afraid. It’s part of a process. The results have to be immediate, and the challenge we have with the club we are representing is that we have to win as quickly as possible every game in every competition.”

“So far we have played 14 games in all competitions this season, we won 10 and lost four and the four of them have been in the Premier League, so it is a little bit imbalanced.”

“There are a lot of things to do, short term and medium term, we have seen a lot of changes not only on the pitch but structurally as a club as well, it’s been difficult, it’s been a challenging time in the last three or four months, a lot of things have happened.”

“We have to settle and everyone has to realise where we are now, but I see the future as really bright. I am a really positive person and I tend to learn much more when things don’t go well and we have a defeat like we had the other day that really hurt after the performance we had at Old Trafford.”

“We have to understand why it happened, be really critical first of all with myself and try to understand the players better, and give them more solutions to win more football matches.”