Nicolas Pepe admits Arsenal ‘need to sort out concentration problems’ after Raheem Sterling goal after 79 SECONDS gave Manchester City victory at the Emirates
- Arsenal failed to make an impact in their 1-0 defeat to Manchester City
- Raheem Sterling got the winner very early on, getting free to head in a cross
- Nicolas Pepe said Arsenal needed to fix their ‘concentration problems’
Nicolas Pepe has voiced his frustrations with the Arsenal team following their 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
Raheem Sterling found space between the two centre-backs to head home a cross inside two minutes, and Arsenal were unable to find a breakthrough for the rest of the game.
Pepe told RMC Sport: ‘We have concentration problems, we have to fix that.’
Nicolas Pepe says Arsenal need to work on their concentration problems after their defeat
Raheem Sterling scored early and Arsenal were unable to find a breakthrough to equalise
Arsenal had periods of good possession, but were unable to find the killer pass in the final third.
‘We had chances in the match too,’ Pepe added. ‘In this game, there was that goal, and then nothing.’
Arsenal only managed one shot on target, and now have just one win in their last give games.
Boss Mikel Arteta admitted the Gunners ‘lacked quality’ in the match, and were at fault for the goal.
Mikel Arteta says Arsenal got things wrong for the goal, and lacked quality in the final third
‘We got something wrong,’ he said. ‘We didn’t do it in the first 10 minutes. It’s a cross and Raheem Sterling cannot head a ball there. You cannot concede that goal. It was a tactical thing that we were prepared for but we didn’t read it in the game.
After Sterling’s goal, Manchester City continued to dominate most of the game, while never really seeming to have to play at their best.
Down in 10th position in the Premier League, Arsenal’s hopes of a finish in the European places seem to be slipping away, with the Europa League perhaps their only chance of Champions League football next year.
Meanwhile, Manchester City are flying high at the top of the league, and have won their last 18 matches in all competitions.
