“That’s my responsibility” – Mikel Arteta takes the blame during ‘really sad day’ of Arsenal missing out on Premier League title

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta took the responsibility upon himself as the Gunners missed out on the Premier League title this season. The Gunners lost their latest Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest by a scoreline of 1-0. Taiwo Awoyini scored the only goal of the match.

Manchester City have now been crowned as the champions of England for the 2022-23 season. The Gunners have 81 points from 37 matches and trail City by four points, with a game remaining.

Despite holding an eight-point lead at one point in time and leading the table for 248 days, Arteta's side collapsed in the final part of the season. The Spanish coach took the responsibility of his team's recent performances upon himself.

Speaking to the media after the Forest clash, Arteta said (via football.london):

“Really sad day. A lot of difficult emotions. We lost the game and we lost the championship after 10 and a half months fighting for it and nine and a half months almost on top."

He added:

“We built a lot of enthusiasm and belief that we could go all the way and win it. At the end we fell short First of all, congratulations Man City. They are the champions and they deserve to be champions. They’ve done it for 38 games."

Arteta further said:

“We haven’t been able to do that. That’s it. From my side apologise because we have generated that belief that we could do it and at the end the team couldn’t do it. That’s my responsibility.”

While Arsenal didn't win the league, their performances this season showed that Arteta is the right man to take the Gunners forward in the years to come.

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Arsenal need to strengthen their squad next season

Arsenal's lack of squad depth and inexperience cost them the Premier League title. The core of the team is very young and they crumbled in the most crucial games of the season.

The Gunners need to reinforce their squad if they are to compete at the same level or topple Manchester City as the best English team next season. What moves they make in the summer remains to be seen.

One thing is for certain, though, that Arsenal's young players will have a lot to learn from this season. They can use the valuable experience and only get better next campaign.