Mikel Arteta has revealed what he told his Arsenal players after the dramatic 3-3 draw with Southampton. Arsenal’s grip on the Premier League title got a little weaker as they were held to a 3-3 draw at home to Southampton on Friday. Some early errors gifted Southampton two goals inside the first 15 minutes, and although Arsenal fought back admirably and soon responded through Gabriel Martinelli’s volley, they were unable to make their dominance pay and were eventually caught out as Duje Caleta-Car headed home a third midway through the second half.
Saints had not won away to Arsenal in the league since 1987 and had looked on course for a famous victory as with 88 minutes gone they were 3-1 up. The Gunners, however, made a late charge and scored through Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka – but they could not find a winner. It means Arsenal are five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League ahead of Wednesday’s huge match at Emirates Stadium.
Asked what he told his players in the dressing room, Arteta said: ‘That I love them. Because I know how difficult it was today for them, especially when you make a big mistake like that early on. ‘It’s very tough psychologically but the way we played, the courage we showed under that pressure… ‘Obviously we’re unhappy with the result, We made it very difficult again for ourselves but mistakes are part of football but the way we reacted I love my players more than ever.’
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