"A f*****g funeral" - Mikel Arteta dubbed Arsenal's 2021-22 season a 'disaster' after they slipped below Tottenham
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta labeled his team's most recent season a 'disaster' after they surrended their top four place to Tottenham Hotspur.
The Gunners have enjoyed an excellent start to their current Premier League campaign after winning their opening two games. The squad are attempting to recover from a poor finish to last season, where they lost six of their last 12 league encounters.
Respect, commitment & passion.
This team has all three in abundance thanks to Mikel Arteta. #afc https://t.co/trhSqCrMz0
Arsenal had a golden opportunity to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since the 2015/16 season, but they fell away, losing fourth spot to Tottenham.
Footage has emerged from Arsenal's All or Nothing documentary on Amazon Prime of Arteta berating his squad. The Spaniard was furious as he told his players (as per The Star):
"After the game, I didn't want to talk to you. I was sure that I was going to say something that I was going to regret. But I tell you today - it was a f*****g disaster. I look in your eyes and I tell you that it was a f***ing disaster. It was nowhere near the level that we have to play.
"After losing two games at this club to Crystal Palace and Brighton it has to be a f*****g funeral. A funeral. You know why you didn't win? Because there is something missing. Something missing inside you. When you go out there something is missing. So how do we change it? We change it in training."
Mikel Arteta is EVERY arsenal fan in the trenches....😂
#AONArsenal https://t.co/RAOb7RzGOD
Mikel Arteta launches into astonishing rant at Arsenal players after blowing top four spot
The Gunners' fate was all but sealed when they lost 2-0 at Newcastle United on the penultimate matchday of the 2021/22 league season.
I’m going to be honest. The more I watch Arsenal All or Nothing. The more I respect Mikel Arteta.
Following the defeat, Arteta couldn't contain his anger towards his stars as he screamed (as quoted by The Chronicle):
"It doesn’t matter what I say, it doesn’t matter what you say now, it is too late. They were 10,000 times better than us today, in everything. We didn’t earn the right to play, we didn’t win a f***ing duel, we didn’t win a second ball, we were horrible with the f***ing ball, we had no organisation, we had nothing guys. Nothing!
"So now [zips mouth shut], shut your mouth and eat it. We could have conceded eight goals, and when you see the chances you will cry. You will cry the way we have competed. It’s not the way we have competed, it’s that we didn’t compete at all in the game."