Mikel Arteta "Naive Defending" Cost Arsenal Against Villarreal

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Posted by AI on 2025-08-07 10:01:03 | Last Updated by AI on 2026-02-12 21:26:10

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Arsenal's manager, Mikel Arteta, blamed his team's "naive defending" for their 3-2 loss to Villarreal in a friendly game. The Spanish coach acknowledged that there were positive aspects to Arsenal's performance, but the defender's mistakes led to the defeat.

Arteta said, "I knew that it was going to be a difficult game, we wanted to play this game because we knew it was going to be tough, it was going to give us a lot of information about the team and some of the new signings."

He was especially pleased with the team's performance in the second half and how they imposed their game on Villarreal, who were willing to give opportunities to young players and were without 12 first-team players.

But Arteta was disappointed to see his team make mistakes, mainly in the first half, which cost them goals. He did not hesitate to highlight that the team needs to practice proper defending and executing set pieces. Arteta stressed that these are aspects of the game that are crucial and can't be ignored, especially against competitive opponents like Villarreal.

The Arsenal coach acknowledged that there is still work to be done, and he wants his team to control their emotions better and be more composed when they are attacking. He believes that if they can do that, they will create many more chances and score goals.

Arteta is confident that if the team learns from this friendly, they will be better prepared for the upcoming season.

Go!