Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta claimed the ‘result’ is the ‘worst thing’ of their night in San Siro, as he believes his side showed complete ‘dominance’ despite falling to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Inter in the Champions League.
The Gunners went behind in the closing minutes of the first half due to a penalty awarded for a handball from Mikel Merino which left Arsenal ‘extremely frustrated’, especially when coupled with the referee’s decision not to punish a previous contact between the midfielder’s head and goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
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Arteta said such calls ‘marked the result’, leading to a verdict which is ‘difficult to accept’, but insisted their first Champions League defeat of the season was ‘one of the best games’ he has seen his side play in years, as they could’ve scored ‘at least two goals’.
Arteta: No team has shown the same Arsenal ‘dominance’ against Inter
“The worst thing of the night for sure is the result,” Arteta said at a post-match press conference attended by Football Italia.
“The dominance, the attitude and the performance we showed against one of the best teams in Europe, in this stadium, I haven’t seen it in all the games that I watched. For sure, this is one of the best games I’ve seen my team playing in years.
“The reality is the result and we had many situations in front of goal that we could have resolved better enough to score at least two goals.
“We are extremely frustrated as well because there are then two decisions that, in the end, marked the game.”
“I don’t understand,” Arteta continued, commenting on the incident that led to a penalty and making a comparsion with the other controversial moment involving Merino and Sommer.
“There is no danger at all. You cannot react because the ball is very close. But OK. They decide that is a penalty.
“But if that is a penalty then the one on Mikel Merino where he punches him in the head has to be a penalty 100%. These are the margins in this game and it’s very difficult to accept.”
