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"I blame my team" - Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta refuses to criticise referee Craig Pawson

Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta refused to blame referee Craig Pawson for Arsenal's 2-1 defeat by Chelsea on Sunday.

Pawson was criticised by Arsenal supporters for failing to show a second yellow card to Jorginho, who went on to score the equalising goal.

They have now won only one of their last 15 games in all competitions, and face a tough task against Manchester United on New Year's Day.

"I blame my team,” he said in his post-game press conference. “We are responsible for everything we did wrong on that football pitch.

“The decisions we didn't get right, obviously. The other things we cannot control or change them now.

“More than something related to the organisation, physically it was tough to maintain the level Chelsea play at at the moment.

“We are asking them to do something different, to play at a different pace, much more aggressive and at the moment they suffered.

“We had a lot of injuries; we're putting demands on young players. I don't think that they didn't want to do it or that they were scared, I think it was just too physical for them in the end.”

Bernd Leno was at fault for Jorginho's equaliser, failing to deal with Mason Mount's free-kick from the left.

"He will be down," the manager said. “He's done a really good job since he joined this football club and we have to respect that. We just need to bring the confidence back in and that's it.”

Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).