Arteta: Arsenal can’t afford to feel sorry for making unwanted history

Mikel Arteta

insisted that

do not have time to feel sorry for themselves following their loss at the hands of

on Sunday.

Courtesy of Blues striker

Romelu Lukaku

and wing-back

Reece James

’ goals, Chelsea won the game 2-1 at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners were also defeated in their opening game of the season against Brentford and it is the first time in their 118-year history that they started the season with two defeats without netting a single goal.

They are also in the relegation zone for the first time and the club manager is facing growing pressure as he spent £129million in the market this season.

The Spanish tactician accepts that his side cannot complain about their loss at the hands of the Blues.

"

Chelsea were the better team. When they play at their best, which I think they did today, they are champions of Europe, have world-class players and to match at that level is difficult,"

Arteta told

Sky Sports

.

"You can always do things better. In the first half it took us a long time to regain the ball in wide areas. We conceded two goals but the way the team responded and the crowd never gave up, it gave us hope in the second half.

"I see a lot of positives with the crowd. The way they supported the team from the beginning. I saw a good reaction. It is one of the difficult moments. The circumstances are difficult and unprecedented. 

"Feeling sorry for yourself doesn't help. You have to win football matches, keep it together and show spirit. Starting tomorrow in training with the players who did not play. We need to win the game midweek and that will help against City next weekend."

Arteta experienced his 20th defeat out of 60 games in the Premier League as the Arsenal boss. The Gunners also had to deal with five players testing positive for Covid-19, with

Ben White

being the latest who missed the clash against Chelsea.

The Arsenal manager thinks his side can change and get back to full strength but he announced that White will not be available for selection.

"

It's really challenging at the moment. We're missing nine players and the majority of them are big senior players,"

he said at his post-match news conference.

"The players we put out are trying their best but at the moments it's not enough to win football matches. We try to explain when we can what we are facing but the expectation for this club is always that we will win. 

"When the players are back and they will need some time to get back as well, hopefully it can be different. The good thing is the narrative in football changes really quickly."

When Arteta was quizzed if they should have been gifted a penalty when James tangled with Bukayo Saka in the box, he replied:

“Yes. Clear

.”

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