LONDON: After suffering a 2-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta admitted that his side needs to score goals if they want to be competitive this season.
Son Heung-min and Harry Kane scored the goals for Tottenham as the side defeated Arsenal 2-0 on Sunday to move to the first spot in the Premier League standings.
"You look at all the stats, they're in our favour, but at the end of the day it's about putting the ball in the net. We had the chances. We had generated probably more than ever this season, put the ball in the box more than ever, had the numbers there. But at the end of the day we have to score the goals, and when they had a half-chance they scored, and at the moment we haven't. To build something, you need results," Goal.com quoted Arteta as saying.
"I take a lot of positives for the way we played, when we come here in this moment and play with the personality, the courage, the passion, the energy and the belief the boys showed. At the end it's a football match and you have to win it, and we lost again today," he added.
As a result of this loss, Arsenal are now placed at the 15th spot in the Premier League standings, 11 points behind table-toppers Tottenham.
When asked how the fortunes of the club can change, he replied: "By scoring goals, very simple. We need to score goals. If not, it's unsustainable. It doesn't matter what we do in other departments of the pitch, if we don't score goals we can't do nothing."
Arsenal enjoyed the bulk of ball possession in the match against Tottenham, still the side did not manage to get many shots on target.
The Gunners will now take on Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday, December 13.