Arsenal were shut out for the second-straight Premier League game, drawing 0-0 at Nottingham Forest as the Gunners attack continues to condemn their minimal title hopes.
Mikel Arteta will have to answer to having no answers for 180 minutes of PL play in a loss to West Ham and this draw with Forest, which came following a surprising Mikel Merino second-half brace to beat lowly Leicester City.
MORE — Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal recap
Merino has never scored more than five league goals in his career but was started at center forward for the second-straight game, and results were not better.
Arsenal are 13 points back of leaders Liverpool. The Gunners have 11 games left to Liverpool’s 10, but that’s a slim silver lining.
As it stands, their would-be title bid is going out with a whimper. So what did Arteta say on Wednesday?
Mikel Arteta reaction — What did Arsenal manager say after latest bad day in attack?
“Disappointed even though we dominated pretty much from start to finish except for one or two situations where they ran. We certainly tried. The spirit was unquestionable but we lacked the final spark, the ability to open them up.”
Was it personnel? Tactics? “I don’t want to disclose that. We know that.”
How can Arsenal turn it around? “It’s a good time to reflect. We have a few days before the PSV game.”
“Unquestionable the character, how much we wanted it. We dominated the game for most of the game. We tried in many different ways. We insisted, and insisted, and insisted but we lacked the spark to unlock a very disorganized team. In all the situations, we have to find more shots on target.”
Lack of forwards hurt you? “The same as before. This is what we have and we look forward to working with what we have.”
Still not quitting on title race? “We are going to try to win oour football games. It was the same two weeks ago, three months ago. The only thing we can do is win.”
Does it feel good at all to get a point from third-place team? “It doesn’t feel good. We needed to win.”
