Mikel Arteta has admitted that Arsenal's Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City left him feeling like he had a 'ball of poison' in his stomach, but he has vowed to use that painful experience to drive his team towards silverware this season. The Gunners were outplayed in the second half at Wembley a fortnight ago, with two goals from Nico O'Reilly handing Pep Guardiola's side a psychological blow and ending Arsenal's hopes of an unprecedented quadruple.
Arteta refused to confirm whether Kepa Arrizabalaga would start in the FA Cup sixth-round tie at Southampton, after the reserve goalkeeper's mistake led to O'Reilly's opener. Despite the error, Arteta defended his goalkeeper, stating he would never judge a player based on a single mistake. 'Attitude, behaviour, yes 100%. An error is part of football and anybody can do it,' he said.
The Arsenal manager insisted the defeat would haunt him for 'the next 30 years' and that the pain must be used to fuel improvement. 'When you have the opportunity to win a final at Wembley, you have to get it done. So that has to stay there,' Arteta said. 'Learn from that and make sure that that fire is still in that belly, remembering what happened.'
Arteta also addressed criticism over the number of players who withdrew from international duty, noting that the same scrutiny should apply when Arsenal players are injured. He confirmed that Declan Rice is operating at only 70% fitness, a situation that has 'been going on for a while', while Piero Hincapié and Noni Madueke are out of the Southampton game, though Madueke may return for the Champions League trip to Sporting.
