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 to end the season with a trophy. 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 against Southampton in the FA Cup sixth round on Saturday, after the reserve goalkeeper's mistake led to O'Reilly's opener. However, he insisted that the defeat would haunt him for 'the next 30 years' and that he would use it as motivation. 'During the first part, it's like a ball of poison that you have in your tummy,' Arteta said. 'Take that out as quick as possible. How can I use that to make myself better, to make the team better?'
The Arsenal manager has been criticised for not selecting first-choice goalkeeper David Raya at Wembley, but he defended Kepa, saying: 'I'm never going to judge a player or make a decision because he's made an error. An error is part of football and anybody can do it. He's got so much experience and he's been through all kinds of different scenarios in his career, so he's more than ready to play.'
Arteta kept his cards close regarding the 11 players who withdrew from international squads last week, though he confirmed Thomas Tuchel's assertion that Declan Rice is operating at only 70% fitness. Piero Hincapié and Noni Madueke are both out of the Southampton game, but Martin Ødegaard and Jurrien Timber could be in contention. Arteta also addressed criticism over the number of withdrawals, saying: 'I hope it's been the same when we had a lot of players from the national team injured in the past. The same emphasis. Because then it's a fair comment.'
