Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was disappointed after his side suffered a 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday during the Premier League.
The defeat meant that defending champions Manchester City now have a two-point lead over Arsenal at the top of the table with six games left. Liverpool are in third place with as many points (71) as Arsenal.
However, Arteta believes that his side will continue fighting till the end of the season.
“That’s a possibility, that’s the reality right now. It was the same a few months back, we knew that this moment could come. Now it’s about reacting and keep believing and doing what we can,” Arteta said after the match.
“We had one of the best performances in the first half that we had this season by far against a really good team, it should have been three or four or more. It didn’t happen in the second half, momentum shifted, we could not control and generate what we did in the first half.
“We struggled, we conceded two very poor goals and we lost the game so congratulations to the opponent and now is the moment to stand up as a leader, as a character to make yourself count because when you win and win and win and win for four months, it’s very simple to do it. The moment is now.”
Arteta is now looking forward to the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena on Wednesday. The tie is levelled at 2-2 after the first leg.
“After losing any game, frustrated and sad. But as I said, we have a beautiful opportunity, an opportunity that hasn’t happened at this club for 14 years to get to the semi-finals of the Champions League, so it cannot come in a better moment,” Arteta added.
