Arteta: “The exclusion from Sporting is a huge blow”

For the “lesson” he will give to Arsenal the exclusion from Sporting Lisbon in the 11 games remaining in the Premier LeagueMikel Arteta spoke to the Gunners’ official website”.

First, he said “It’s a huge blow, but it brings… clarity to the season“, and continued: “It’s 11 games, 11 Premier League games and a grand final against Crystal Palace. We have to be focused, we have to have energy and learn from tonight’s (ie yesterday’s) result.

We have to learn from this but the best thing at the moment is to react and show the same commitment, more quality and play better against Palace to win».

Finally, the Spanish coach also referred to the absence of Takehiro Tomiyasu and William Saliba, who were injured in the match against the Portuguese team.

“Tomiyasu’s injury seems pretty serious, after his reaction and what he told me“, Arteta told reporters and added: “Obviously, it’s too early and hard to know yet. As for William, I don’t know. He had some discomfort and couldn’t continue, so we had to take him out” were Arteta’s words after Arsenal’s fourth successive elimination from the Europa League.

Edited by: Christos Lois