Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has spoken candidly about the club’s pre-season defeat to Real Betis and the state of his squad ahead of the new season.
The Gunners fell to defeat despite a spirited response, with Piero Hincapie heading in from Christos Tzolis’ corner to give Arsenal hope during the contest.
Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga found himself under scrutiny after two mistakes directly led to Betis goals during an uncomfortable first-half performance.
Kai Havertz’s poor backpass allowed Betis to capitalise further, making it a third goal and effectively ending any hope of a comeback for the North London side.
Arteta used 25 players across the full 90 minutes, with the second half seeing wholesale changes and a number of younger players handed opportunities to impress.
Speaking to the press after the game, Arteta acknowledged the context of the result while refusing to paper over the cracks that appeared during the opening period.
“Well, the important part is to win it and we didn’t manage to win it so disappointed obviously for the result,” Arteta said, adding that there were still positives to draw from the performance.
“A bad result sometimes it’s good to create even more fire in the belly,” the Arsenal boss added, insisting the reaction inside the dressing room was exactly the kind of mentality he wants from his squad.
When asked about the atmosphere behind closed doors at half-time, Arteta did not hold back, saying simply: “Very upset, given a hard time. They are fuming, but this is good. That’s what we need.”
The match was played against the backdrop of significant transfer activity, with Bruno Guimaraes widely expected to complete a move to Arsenal imminently this week.
Arteta refused to be drawn into any direct comment on the Newcastle midfielder, stating firmly: “I’m not going to talk about any players who aren’t Arsenal players.”
He did, however, acknowledge that a significant portion of his squad remains unavailable, noting that only four players had joined the group just three days before the Betis clash.
“We know half of the squad is still not with us,” Arteta said, adding that maximising every day available to him with his current group is the priority right now.
Young midfielder Caedach O’Neill caught the eye and drew considerable praise from his manager, who described him as “really mature and really focused” with “a tremendous quality to him.”
Christian Norgaard, who played a key role in Arsenal’s title-winning campaign last season, was also a topic of discussion after his departure to Everton was confirmed.
Arteta was full of praise for the departing midfielder, saying: “He played a tremendous role for us. An incredible capacity to bring people together, to keep the standards high.”
Concern was also raised over Louis Copley’s fitness, with Arteta warning that the injury “doesn’t look good” and that the mechanism and early symptoms pointed toward a potentially serious setback.
Arsenal now return to London with two home games scheduled before the Community Shield, giving Arteta valuable time to integrate the rest of his squad and sharpen preparations for the season ahead.
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