Unai Emery on Monday said that Arsenal were unlucky to suffer a shock 1-0 defeat at Sheffield United as Lys Mousset condemned the Gunners to their latest away-day flop.
Emery’s side are without an away English Premier League win since the opening weekend of the season after failing to rise to the challenge posed by fired-up United at Bramall Lane.
French forward Mousset, making his first Premier League start for United, punished poor Arsenal defending in the first half to score his second goal since signing from AFC Bournemouth.
Photo: Reuters
That was enough to send Arsenal crashing to just their second defeat of the season, ending an eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
The north Londoners sit fifth in the league after a powder-puff performance that showed Emery’s rebuilding job is still a work in progress, but the Arsenal coach insisted that his side deserved at least a draw and criticized the failure to give a penalty for a foul on Sokratis.
“We didn’t deserve to lose. We can speak about two key moments, one is the goal and the other is a clear penalty with Sokratis. With VAR [the video assistant referee], the foul should have been reviewed, but we have to accept it,” Emery said after Arsenal’s winless run in Sheffield extended to 26 years. “We had more chances than them. If we scored one goal then we could have controlled better.”
Emery was asked if Arsenal have a mental block in away games.
“We prepare for the matches the same home and away, and think to win,” he said. “We deserved more, but they are a very strong defensive team.”
Under Emery, Arsenal have kept just two clean sheets in 24 away league matches and once again they wilted too easily in a hostile environment.
“We conceded a lot of corners in the first half and they scored the goal. It can happen. Above all, we have to improve by not allowing balls like that,” Emery said. “We are playing some young players who are taking experience, but the most important thing is to win.”
It was a signature win for the Blades after last season’s promotion and they sit proudly in ninth place, just three points behind Arsenal.
With the Bramall Lane crowd in full voice, a bruising clash got off to a contentious start when Sokratis appealed in vain for a penalty after having his shirt tugged by John Egan.
Emery’s men should have taken the lead when Sead Kolasinac curled a perfect low cross toward Nicolas Pepe in the six-yard box, but the unmarked Ivory Coast winger completely miscued his shot.
It was the latest in a growing list of disappointing displays from Pepe, who has struggled to make an impact since his club record move from Lille OSC in the summer.
United made the most of that escape as Arsenal’s long-running set-piece issues resurfaced in the 30th minute.
Oliver Norwood’s corner reached Jack O’Connell at the far post and he rose above Matteo Guendouzi to head down to Mousset, who poked home from virtually on the goal-line after Granit Xhaka failed to react to the danger.
Damningly, Arsenal have conceded 22 league goals from set-pieces since the start of last season, with only Watford (25) and Everton (24) allowing more.
“We limited them to few chances and backed up a good performance with a good result,” Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder said. “We wanted to make sure if we played well against a top side we got something from the game and three points is a great reward for the players.”
Additional reporting by AP
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