Bukayo Saka admits his Arsenal team-mates were ‘really disappointed’ after the 2-2 draw at Liverpool but says the title race is still ‘in our hands’ ahead of a ‘massive’ showdown with Manchester City.
The Gunners were frustrated to leave Anfield with just a point (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal raced into a two-goal lead at Anfield on Sunday thanks to Gabriel Martinelli’s toe-poke and Gabriel Jesus’ header.
But Mikel Arteta’s side, who are bidding to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004, had to settle for a point after Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino scored at the end of each half.
It could have been worse for the Gunners who were relieved to see Salah fire wide from the penalty spot and an inspired Aaron Ramsdale deny Darwin Nunez and Ibrahima Konate.
‘The boys were really disappointed after the game because we all wanted to win,’ Saka told Arsenal’s official website. ‘But we can’t change that so we have to switch the focus to Sunday against West Ham.
‘It’s really important – we all know that – so we’ll try and be ready for the game to give our best and get the three points.
“I’m not going to sit here and tell you I’m satisfied with a point [against Liverpool]. We wanted to go there and get all three so there’s a bit of frustration inside me that we didn’t do that. It’s a stadium I’ve never won at, so I thought that it would be the best opportunity and timing to do it, but we couldn’t do it which is a shame.”
Despite the two dropped points, Bukayo is keen to stress that Arsenal title chances remain under our control with eight games of the campaign to go.
“As players, we really want to do this,” he said. “We know that everything is in our hands and we just have to keep going game by game. If we win these last eight games and get some good results, the title can be ours, so we just have to stay focused. It’s a long season and we have to be consistent all the way through, so that’s what we’ll try to do.
“I wouldn’t say [the Man City game] is the final, but maybe the semi-final because it’s massive, and so important as both teams are fighting at the top. It’s really close so it’ll be a massive game.”