FKFPL Arteta admits he has struggled to ‘get over’ Arsenal’s title slip-up last season

The Gunners boss has revealed how he struggled to cope with losing the Premier League crown at the last hurdle having led the race for nearly all season

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted that he has found it difficult to get over ‘bottling’ the title last season.

Arsenal were on top of the Premier League table for 93 percent of the season, only to go through a patchy run of form in April, which allowed Manchester City to move ahead of them to clinch the title in the process.

The 41-year-old, however, appears refreshed ahead of 2023-24, but that has not been without reflection.

“The first few weeks were very tough, because I went through it,” Arteta said on emotionally dealing with last season.

“The first thing you have to do is look in the mirror and understand ‘ok, is there something you should have done better, differently?’ and if that’s the case learn from it.

“And then judge yourself: are you still the right person to drive the club, the team, forward in the way that you want and do you have that energy and that belief that you want to do it. I think it took a big reflection but the answer is ‘yes’ and I feel with a lot of energy and positivity. But I don’t like losing and it takes me a while, and that was a tough moment.”

The title was out of Arsenal’s hands long before Manchester City lifted it on May 21. Arsenal’s loss to Nottingham Forest on May 20 officially handed them the title, but moments had gone against them in the weeks prior, to give Pep Guardiola’s side a window of opportunity.

Arteta highlighted these moments as the reason for Arsenal’s downfall ahead of the Community Shield clash with City this Sunday.

“Momentum (was the key difference),” he added. “In the key moments, when it should have gone one way — and in many situations in the season it went for us — it didn’t go for us.

“It was one, two, three (draws against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton) and then we lost momentum. They took momentum. That shifted, very much. Then you are talking about a team that has the capacity to win 25 games in a row, so the last thing they need (to be given) is momentum and belief. We gave them that.”

Probed further on how he got through those ‘tough’ few weeks, he said both internal and external factors rejuvenated him for the upcoming campaign.

“I probably pretended to my wife that I stopped thinking about it. But she will say something very different,” he added.

“You need to get over it. Being away helps quite a lot. It’s the feeling when you have created that belief and believe you can do it and then it suddenly goes away. 

"But it’s part of it, and we all need that to be better, that moment when you feel ‘I failed’ or I didn’t achieve what I wanted. You still have the hunger and desire to go again. That’s a big motivation.

“It (the job) is always there and every day you get messages. We have a lot of people at the club and there are always things happening that you have to be on top of. You know that period is key. But I had some rest as well, which I needed.

“But when you get especially good news, it’s a good way to put the temperature down because you are more confident and thinking you are moving in the right direction. And this summer we had a lot of good news.”

That good news relates to Arsenal securing three summer signings before they headed to their United States pre-season tour.

Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and prime target Declan Rice have all begun settling in. The Community Shield will provide Arteta another opportunity to see how they fit into his squad before kicking off their Premier League season against Nottingham Forest next weekend.