Bukayo Saka's missed penalty against West Ham in the Gunners' 2-2 draw furthered their chances of winning the Premier League, and Mikel Arteta has expressed sympathy.
Arsenal blew a 2-0 lead for the second game in as many weeks, losing ground in the title chase. Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard gave Arsenal the lead in the first 10 minutes, but Said Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen's strikes cut into their lead.
When Michail Antonio gave up a penalty kick in the second half, Arsenal had a chance to end the game, but Saka stepped up and missed the post with the next kick.
The outcome puts Arsenal four points ahead of Manchester City in the Premier League standings, but the Citizens currently appear to be in control of the battle for the championship because they have a game in hand and will host the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium before the season is up.
After the game, Arteta immediately defended Saka for missing the penalty when speaking to Sky Sports.
I don't know anyone who hasn't missed penalties as a player who takes them, he remarked.
He was asked if anything had changed in their strategy for the title chase after two disappointing finishes, and he responded, "I don't know how many notches there were a few months back. We have no power over it.
The Arsenal manager also took the time to evaluate the actual performance, lamenting that after a stellar first 15 minutes of the game, his team "lost purpose": "So depressing. We again got off to a great start, feeling in complete control, but later on we lost direction.
"We gave them hope, gave up a horrible penalty, and then gave them credit. We got on the roller coaster with all the turns and throw-ins, and we couldn't get off of it.
I couldn't see the reason why we needed it for the third and fourth goals.
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