Arsenal’s underwhelming pre-season continued with a 2-1 defeat at home to Chelsea on Sunday, and Mikel Arteta admitted that the same worrying problems were creeping back in
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Mikel Arteta has admitted he is “worried” about his Arsenal side ahead of the new Premier League season after an old problem came back to haunt them in a pre-season friendly with Chelsea.
The Gunners are hoping to bounce back after a highly disappointing season last time out where they finished down in eighth.
Results haven’t gone Arsenal’s way in pre-season, with the defeat to Hibs and draw with Rangers followed by a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea over the weekend.
Granit Xhaka’s second half strike had cancelled out Kai Havertz’ opener with around 20 minutes left to play at the Emirates.
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Action Images via Reuters)
However, a mistake from Hector Bellerin allowed Tammy Abraham a simple chance to put Chelsea ahead just three minutes later.
And speaking after the game, Arteta admitted that it was a similar story to similar goals he has seen his side concede in the past which is a worrying sign when he is looking to improve this season.
He told the club’s official website: “It worries me because when you give the ball away when you’re in the position we’re in, in one or two passes they can attack your goal.
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“It’s a really difficult situation to resolve. From those situations as well, we created many chances today.
“We need to know when to take the risk. It’s more about the perception and interpreting the players that we have to use in certain areas more than the actual action.
“But you know that against these teams, they punish you in the Premier League.”
Speaking about the game on the whole, Arteta revealed his delight at having an increased number of fans inside the Emirates again, and praised his players for the positive signs they showed.
“First of all, it was a great atmosphere,” he added. “The fans were right behind the team and I think with 20 or 25,000, they created a great atmosphere at the stadium.
“It was a great test for us against the best team in Europe.
“I think we showed some really positive stuff and some worrying stuff when we gave the ball away in difficult positions, and when we had to do defensive organisation, it opened spaces in difficult moments.
“For what we could do against that team and where we are in pre-season, I think it was positive.”
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