Mikel Arteta reveals ‘fuming’ Arsenal squad reaction to Real Betis loss; explains Christian Norgaard exit | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta has admitted that Arsenal’s players were “fuming” after they suffered a 3-1 loss to Real Betis in their latest friendly.

Arsenal had their latest pre-season friendly on Wednesday, but it did not go to plan.

Piero Hincapie got on the scoresheet against Real Betis, but the Spanish side scored three first-half goals to seal a 3-1 victory over the Premier League holders.

The Gunners only have two remaining friendlies before they face Manchester City in the Community Shield, and Arteta insists the loss to Real Betis will be “good” for his side.

On how his players reacted to the Real Betis loss, Arteta said: “Very upset, given a hard time. They are fuming, but this is good. That’s what we need.”

He added: “Well, the important part is to win it and we didn’t manage to win it, so disappointed obviously for the result.

“It’s true we used 25 players, so you need to give a bit of context to the game.

“In the first half, with more starters, two very different things: how we played and how we competed, because we had some fantastic moments in the time we played.

“The way we competed especially in and around our box in a number of standards that we are used to, so there are things to improve obviously, some positives to take from the game and then a bad result sometimes it’s good to create even more fire in the belly.”

Mikel Arteta remains tight-lipped on Bruno Guimaraes

Arsenal could have Bruno Guimaraes on board for their next friendlies, but Arteta remained tight-lipped on the midfielder on Wednesday.

Arteta has also explained why Arsenal gave Christian Norgaard permission to join Everton.

“I’m not going to talk about any players who aren’t Arsenal players,” Arteta responded when asked about Guimaraes.

He later added: “Well, I can tell you at the moment that something happens and we can announce it. I will give you my straight answer.”

On Christian Norgaard leaving Arsenal to join Everton, Arteta said: “Well, he played a tremendous role for us.

“When I brought him here I said that he could be our group player. An incredible capacity to bring people together, to keep the standards high. When he played he had some really good moments as well.

“But I understand that to fulfil that role for a long period is not easy. He had a massive opportunity with a manager and a club that I know really well. We wish him all the best and thank you.”