Mikel Arteta Blames Self After Arsenal Fell To West Ham

Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, has blamed himself following his team’s 3-1 Carabao Cup loss to West Ham on Wednesday.

During the game, Ben White’s header from a corner went beyond goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale in the sixteenth minute and the own goal earned West Ham the lead.

Arsenal had more possession of the ball but were unable to score, and five minutes into the second half, Mohammed Kudus punished them by brilliantly blocking Nayef Aguerd’s 50-yard cross-field pass and finishing low through Gabriel’s legs.

Just before the hour mark, Bowen secured West Ham’s victory by winning a poor defensive header from White and hitting a volley from the edge of the area that deflected off Gabriel’s thigh and caught Ramsdale off guard.

With the game’s last kick, Odegaard slotted into the bottom corner, but West Ham eliminated the Gunners from the competition with a 3-1 victory, prolonging their 30-year League Cup drought.

After the game, Mikel Arteta said, “I’m very disappointed. I’m responsible for that.
“We’re out of the Cup, we wanted to play a very different game and compete.

“The game took a direction because of the first goal but we have to see much more from the team and earn the right to win.

“I’m disappointed with myself. We wanted to play differently and we weren’t able to do that. Every time we lose the pain is there.

“We have to use this pain and this defeat to prepare the best way for Newcastle [in the Premier League] on Saturday.”

The win over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup means West Ham have advanced to the quarterfinals of the competition for the third successive season and will travel to face Liverpool on December 19.