Arsenal Took Their Foot Off The Gas – Iwobi

Arsenal midfielder Alex Iwobi says the Gunners took their “foot off the gas” in the second half of Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Manchester City.

Arsenal led 1-0 at half-time through Theo Walcott’s early goal, but gave up an equaliser just minutes after the break and struggled to recover as City dominated the second half and saw Raheem Sterling net the winner.

While Gunners manager Arsene Wenger criticised the officials for what he claimed were two offside goals, Iwobi, 20, admitted that the team lost their intensity after the break.

“I guess you could say we took our foot off the gas,” Iwobi told Arsenal’s official website. “Man City took advantage very well in the second half. We were up against a tough side today, we were just unfortunate to not keep the win.”

Iwobi was back in the starting lineup after being dropped in recent league games, but was taken off for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the second half. Oxlade-Chamberlain was then taken off with an injury, dealing Arsenal another blow.

It was Arsenal’s second straight Premier League loss after going 14 games unbeaten in the division, and they are now nine points behind leaders Chelsea.

However, the Gunners next face West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day before a favourable run of games in January against teams in the lower half of the table that could give them hope of making up ground.

“We’re going to keep on going, fight until the end and see where we go. We’ll just have to continue how we were playing at the start of the season,” Iwobi said. “We just have to get that back and kick on now and prepare well for the next game.”