Arsenal: Mikel Arteta reacts to 1-0 loss to Leicester
Manchester United hero Rio Ferdinand has warned Arsenal that 'Partey time is over' after their loss to Leicester in the Premier League. The Gunners face a tough challenge against the Red Devils this coming weekend and Mikel Arteta will need to bounce back and prove the progress he has made at the club.
Man Utd hero Rio Ferdinand has challenged Arsenal (Image: GETTY)
"They’ve been having a party since Partey signed. Reality hits home now," said Ferdinand on his FIVE YouTube channel.
"They’ve got to respond. I’ve said it about Everton and I’m going to say the same thing about Arsenal: it’s how you respond to these situations.
"Too many times in the past Arsenal have not responded in these situations and have gone on runs losing games and they drift away. They can’t have that happen this season.
"I think Arteta has been a breathe of fresh air at the Emirates. This is now a big time to say to the boys: “Listen, you’ve lost, that’s it, we move on”.
"And that’s the mentality shift that he has to implement in this squad. Can he do it? We’ll wait and see."
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Arsenal boss Arteta was pleased with his side's performance against Leicester despite the defeat.
"I think the team started really well," Arteta told Arsenal.com.
"We had a really good first half against a really low block but they're a team that has the ability to play and open you up as well. We didn't allow that to happen, we were really aggressive, we won every duel, we were a threat.
"I think we created enough chances in the first half to be in front. Certainly we scored a goal, I don't know how that wasn't allowed. In the second half, it was about being patient, waiting for the right moments, they were just waiting for our mistake.
"They had 10 men behind the ball and then one occasion, when the ball is under no pressure, we tried to step in and that created the space and then they are through. After the 1-0, I think we have to play those moments better, there were too many free-kicks and we didn't put the ball in the box enough.
"I think we gave some sloppy passes away [in the second half]. We started to lose some duels. You start to get a little bit frustrated because it's really difficult to attack them in the spaces.
"You start to force some passes that you shouldn't do against these blocks but still they didn't have any threat. They didn't have any shots on target or anything but they were waiting for one moment and credit to them, they've done it."
Arsenal return to Europa League action against Dundalk on Thursday before turning their attentions to United on Sunday.
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