Mikel Arteta Reacts After Arsenal’s Emirates Cup Defeat to Borussia Dortmund
- Borussia Dortmund beat Arsenal 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium in the annual pre-season cup competition
- Arteta told Arsenal TV the result was a defeat and certain areas of the team's play need to improve
- Arsenal won the penalty shootout, but Arteta insisted that did not change the outcome of the match
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Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has spoken out after his side fell to a 3-2 defeat against Borussia Dortmund in the Emirates Cup final, admitting the loss hurts despite the Gunners winning the subsequent penalty shootout.
Goals from Samuele Inacio and Konstantinos Karetsas gave Dortmund a two-goal advantage at the break. Ethan Nwaneri reduced the deficit early in the second half, but Joane Gadou restored the German side's two-goal cushion before Viktor Gyokeres pulled another back for Arsenal.
Source: Getty Images
The match then moved to penalties as pre-arranged, with goalkeeper Illan Meslier saving Mathis Albert's attempt to hand Arsenal the shootout win.
Arteta reacts to Arsenal’s loss
Despite the penalty victory, Arteta was clear about his view of the final result when speaking to Arsenal TV.
“It doesn't really work like this. So yes, we lost the game, obviously not happy about it. And yes, things obviously have to be improved,” he said.
“Certain players need to get more minutes and rhythm, which is going to be really helpful for what we went through today, especially certain parts of the game. Tomorrow, finally, everybody is back.”
Arteta confirmed that players who featured in the 2026 World Cup final will return to training on Monday, giving him a complete squad ahead of Arsenal's final pre-season fixture against Como and the Community Shield clash with Manchester City.
As noted by BBC Sport, the 2026/27 Premier League season opener will be held at the Principality Stadium in Wales, rather than Wembley Stadium.
Arteta shares Arsenal's ambitions
Legit.ng previously reported that Mikel Arteta shared Arsenal’s ambitions ahead of next season after securing the services of Bruno Guimaraes.
The Spanish manager confirmed that all the work done during the summer transfer window is geared towards winning all trophies next season.
Source: Legit.ng
