Mikel Arteta bemoans ‘bad luck’ but says Arsenal must ‘generate more’ after fifth defeat in seven games

A Nicolas Pepe penalty wasn’t enough for Arsenal to pick up a first league win since 1st November

Mikel Arteta (Getty Images)

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says his team must be more effective in both penalty boxes after the Gunners succumbed to another defeat in the Premier League.

This time it was Everton who inflicted further pain on Arteta and his side, a 2-1 scoreline at Goodison Park coming after Yerry Mina’s headed winner.

Arteta made reference to the Toffees not needing to create a large volume of chances to beat Arsenal, while his own side toiled in possession and rarely looked like finding an equaliser.

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Speaking after the game to Sky Sports, Arteta put a fifth defeat in seven games down to poor fortune on the day, as Everton moved up to second.

“Bad again, without conceding much, that we lost the game...with two key moments, an own goal and a set-piece,” he said.

“We reacted well, dominated the game and created enough chances at least not to lose the game. We hit the bar and I think the luck is not on our side.”

Arteta insisted that his team were working hard enough to prove their intent at trying to turn fortunes around, despite the fact the FA Cup winners have now won just twice in the last 11 in the league and are 15th in the table.

"We are up against a big fight but you can see how hard they are trying, the spirit is there.

"I think we had 15 shots but only two on target, that ratio is really low if you want to be more consistent and win football matches but that is our reality. We need to generate more to win matches.

"The boys are fighting, upset and together. We need to start winning football matches. The Premier League is the main priority because we need to pick up points."

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