Mikel Arteta accused his Arsenal players of lacking the standards required to win the Premier League after Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to West Ham United.
Jarrod Bowen’s 44th-minute diving header was enough to secure a surprise win for the visitors at Emirates Stadium as Arsenal mustered just two shots on target in a subdued display.
The result leaves Arsenal eight points adrift of leaders Liverpool, who can extend that advantage into double figures with victory at Manchester City on Sunday.
Following injuries to Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, the Gunners were without a recognized striker against West Ham with midfielder Mikel Merino called in as a makeshift alternative.
Asked whether the absence of a forward was to blame, Arteta said: “No, no and I refuse that completely because I am talking about the standards of the players and the team that we played today, me included.
“And that was nowhere near the levels that we have to hit to have the opportunity to win a Premier League. Today, no. We were very consistent, yes, but football is about what you do today and today, nowhere near.”
Arteta could not conceal his frustration after Arsenal missed the chance to apply pressure on their title rivals.
“Even though the [possession] that we had and 20 shots, I never felt that we were at the standard and the level that we needed,” he said. “First of all to have more threat and then not to allow them to run because we lost a lot of balls that we allowed West Ham to run in very dangerous positions.
“We have to be [angry]. I hope we are very much because we didn’t hit the levels today, and I am very much responsible of that, so I am very, very angry.”
Pushed on whether the title race was over if Liverpool beat City, Arteta said: “It’s not in our hands. For me, I’m really, really annoyed about the things that are in our hands, and we didn’t do as well as we possibly could and that’s the performance and the result today.”