Mikel Arteta Challenges Arsenal Players to Show Mental Strength after Losing to Manchester United
JAKARTA - Mikel Arteta challenged Arsenal to show mental strength to win the English League after suffering a tense 2-3 home defeat against Manchester United.
The Gunners ended the weekend just four points clear of Manchester City and Aston Villa after Matheus Cunha's stunning 87th-minute goal gave Manchester United their first league win at Arsenal's home ground since 2017.
Lisandro Martinez's own goal in the 29th minute gave Arsenal the lead in the first half, but a mistake from Martin Zubimendi gave Bryan Mbeumo the chance to equalize eight minutes later.
Patrick Dorgu's superb volley in the 50th minute gave the Red Devils the lead. After Mikel Merino scored the equalizer in the 84th minute, Cunha scored in the final minutes to give Arsenal their first defeat in three consecutive matches without a win.
Former Gunners captain Patrick Vieira told Sky Sports after the game that there were still some questions about the team's mental strength as they attempt to secure their first league title since 2004. Arteta immediately gave an answer.
"It's okay. I mean, we accept every opinion, wherever it comes from. They must have a good reason to say it."
"In the end, we had to show the mental strength we have on the pitch when the game is on. We were really brilliant in Milan (defeating Inter Milan 3-1)."
"Today (against Manchester United), we were not so good. I don't know if it's a mental problem, how much they played (in Italy), but we played badly."
"Especially technically, in certain aspects of the game against teams that if you make those mistakes, they can punish you very heavily. That's the difference," Arteta said.
Arsenal were booed by some supporters when the final whistle blew despite Sunday's defeat, their first since May 2025, when they were top of the Premier League and Champions League.
"It doesn't matter. We have to do more, so maybe it's not enough. We have to do more, nothing else. We have to do our best."
"When you do that, you can be calm. Today we really tried to do our best, but we were not efficient enough against a very organized team. We were punished for our own mistakes as well."
"I think this is the first time we've sat here this season at home and we've lost. That's part of the journey to winning."
"Otherwise, no one will lose in a football match. The most important thing is how we react to it."
"I am very confident because I know the players in the locker room and how much we want it, that we will react immediately," Arteta said.
Arsenal will face Kairat Almaty on Thursday, January 29, 2026, in their last match in the Champions League group stage. Arteta's team has qualified for the last 16 and can finish the game with a perfect record if they win.