Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has claimed his side does not have the squad depth to compete with league leaders Liverpool, after suffering another setback in Saturday’s disappointing draw against Aston Villa.
The Gunners took the lead in the first half through Brazilian winger Gabriel Martinelli, before doubling their advantage through former Chelsea player Kai Havertz, who has been subject of recent criticism.
Aston Villa pulled one back when midfielder Youri Tielemans scored from a wicked Lucas Digne cross, before Ollie Watkins equalized on the 68th minute to complete the comeback for Unai Emery’s side, although Arsenal had a goal later ruled out for handball in the buildup by VAR.
“There are moments – obviously they managed to do that. They made the subs and the subs made the impact and they managed to change the game,” he said of Liverpool’s win over Brentford.
“Not the result, I think when you look at the performances, I don’t know how many teams are playing at this level in the league. When you look at the bench you probably say, we are very, very short.”
Despite the Gunners needing a winner, the Spanish manager did not make a substitution until the 82nd minute, with Chelsea loanee Raheem Sterling, who was the only attacking option available on the bench, coming on for Martinelli.
“The danger was that I knew half the team could go downhill because we were physically drained. Suddenly, the team find another gear to go again and just put Aston Villa in there, in the box, and go and go again, trying to find the goal that we haven’t been able to score at the end”, he added.
The draw means the Gunners suffered a dent on their title hopes, falling six points behind Liverpool, who still have a game in hand.
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