“I wish I could have done better” - Arsenal star unhappy with his performance in shock loss to West Ham in the EFL Cup
Arsenal midfielder Jorginho has admitted that he was not satisfied with his performance in the Gunners' EFL Cup loss to West Ham United on Wednesday (November 1).
The Italy international was asked about captaining his side on the night after the match. He responded (per the club's official website):
"I wish I could have done better. I think the whole team didn’t do what we wanted to do, especially me in the first place. We just need lift the level."
The Gunners suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Hammers at the London Stadium on Wednesday night. The London derby saw Jorginho wear the captain's armband as Declan Rice returned to his former club.
Arsenal had a poor start to the encounter as Ben White got on the wrong side of the scoresheet within 16 minutes. However, the own goal caused some controversy.
Replays showed West Ham's Thomas Soucek tugging on Aaron Ramsdale's shirt in the build-up to the goal. The ostensible foul was overlooked by officials and the Carabao Cup does not feature VAR, allowing no room to undo any errors.
Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen scored once each in the second half, putting the Hammers 3-0 up. Martin Odegaard managed to pull one back for Arsenal in stoppage time but to no avail.
As a result, the Gunners' 2023-24 EFL Cup campaign has come to an end. Arteta's side are set to face Newcastle United next in the Premier League on Saturday (November 4).
“Otherwise, the Arsenal board will decide" - Agbonlahor warns Mikel Arteta to play summer signing more often
Former Aston Villa star Gabriel Agbonlahor has warned Mikel Arteta to play Kai Havertz more often. The pundit believes the Arsenal board may decide to limit the Spanish boss' spending if he does not do so, given that the club spent a substantial sum of money on the player.
The Gunners signed Havertz from Chelsea in the summer transfer window for £65 million. The Germany international has so far failed to impress at the Emirates, scoring just one goal in 16 appearances across all competitions.
While he has featured in all ten of Arsenal's Premier League matches this season, Havertz has only made six starts. Agbonlahor insists that the German forward has to be given more playing time to justify his price tag.
The pundit told Football Insider:
“We could see Havertz come into the side more and more with Jesus out injured. They really need to play him. I’ve said that I wouldn’t play him but that’s just my point of view."
"But when you put your neck on the line and spend so much money on a player, you have to play him. Otherwise, the Arsenal board will decide that Arteta can’t be trusted with big money again."