After Arsenal's 2-2 draw away to Manchester City in the 5th round of the English Premier League, Arsenal manager Arteta was interviewed by Sky Sports, responding to the controversial penalties, team performance and game strategy in the match.
Commenting on the different penalties given to Doku and Trossard for kicking the ball away during the game, Arteta said, "It's very obvious, the red card call I think was very clear and in line with everyone's opinion. But to have something like that happen twice already in five games is a real concern in the Premier League. The red card made the game uncontrollable, especially at the Etihad Stadium where even playing with 11 men is difficult enough, let alone 10. In that situation we had to defend in our own little penalty area time and time again."
Speaking about his thoughts on the whole game, Arteta looked both proud and sorry: "I'm certainly proud of my players, who played very well under normal circumstances. It was a very tough game, City are unbeaten in over 40 games here and that says a lot about them. Even though we only got a point at the end, it showed the resilience and character of our players considering we played for 55 minutes with ten men. I'm immensely proud of them."
On failing to pick up the win near the end of the game, Arteta said, "When you hold on for so long and the game stretches from 97 minutes to 99 minutes and the final result is not what we wanted, it is really very disappointing. But overall, I am satisfied with the performance of the players, who showed tenacity and team spirit."
When asked if he intentionally slowed down the pace of the game, Arteta chose to hedge: "That's something I'm not at liberty to comment on. Our focus is to finish the game with all our might and try to get the best possible result."
