Arteta demands Arsenal improvement after Burnley stalemate

Mikel Arteta was pleased with Arsenal’s defensive resilience in their 0-0 draw at Burnley, but the Spaniard acknowledged his side are “very far from what I want” when it comes to attacking quality.

A run of 11 successive wins for the Gunners against Burnley came to a deserved end at Turf Moor, where the hosts went closest to snatching three points when Jay Rodriguez hit the underside of the crossbar from close range late on.

Arsenal remain well adrift of the Premier League’s top four, while they have now won only two of their last 17 top-flight matches, including just one victory in seven league games since Arteta took charge.

Reflecting on a frustrating display, which had begun encouragingly with clear chances for Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arteta told Sky Sports: “We have to improve quality-wise. We are very far from what I want in terms of sustaining attacks and being more unpredictable in our play, but that’s a process.

A frustrating afternoon in Lancashire

We’ll keep working #BURARS pic.twitter.com/wQQtFPZm5y

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) February 2, 2020

“We generated the chances that you expect here to put the game to bed. We didn’t do it.

“I was very pleased with the first 15-20 minutes: the way we came out, the way we controlled the game, the opportunities that we generated. And we were on top of the game. I think we had the chances to score one or two goals in that moment.

“After 20-25 minutes, we started to give some sloppy passes away, to concede free-kicks, throw-ins, corners and that sequence [is] very difficult to get out of that.”

Arteta was at least satisfied with the manner in which his side stood up to the hosts’ threat, adding: “The way the boys defended the box, it was really good. I think we have improved a lot in the way we have conceded [fewer] chances.”

Arsenal will await news on the fitness of Bukayo Saka, who was withdrawn at half-time after suffering an injury during the opening period.

“We need to assess him but he was in pain,” said Arteta.

Burnley boss Sean Dyche adopted a heavily sarcastic tone as he again discussed opposition players apparently going to ground too easily.

Asked if he had been frustrated by a number of Arsenal players going down, Dyche told Sky Sports: “No, not at all. I think the game’s in a fantastic state. I think it’s lovely to watch when people are falling over. I love it. It’s my favourite part of the game at the moment.”

Pressed on whether it was an issue that needed addressing, Dyche remained sardonic, replying: “No, because no one wants to address it, apart from me it seems, so I’m absolutely happy with the state of the game, as everyone should be.”