Mikel Arteta believes Gabriel Martinelli will definitely bounce back from the penalty lose in the Europa league following their exit from the tournament.
Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli lost the decisive penalty in the shootout against Sporting cp at the Emirate stadium last night.
After a long 120 minutes and the game ended 3-3 on aggregate, Arsenal crashed out of the Europa league through Penalty.
Arteta expects him to bounce back in the same way as his team-mate Bukayo Saka following his missed spot kick for England in the Euro 2020 final against Italy.
“He will react well,” he said. “Obviously he is disappointed today. We all are. When you take that decision, the possibility is always there. He will learn from it like Bukayo did in the past, and move on.”
Arteta expects the same from the rest of his players and insists their work rate in the game gives him encouragement, even if they were a long way from their best.
“We gave everything,” he said. “It wasn’t our day, we weren’t at our best individually or collectively, but they gave every drop of effort they could on that pitch.
“It wasn’t enough but if we do things better than what we did today on Sunday, we’ll have a big chance to win the game.
“Now, the 11 games we have is the focus, the only focus we have, and everybody is thinking about one thing, and that is Palace. To be in the best mental and physical condition, with a lot of clarity, with all the energy there.”
Arteta insisted he could not see the defeat as a blessing in disguise despite the fact it lightens their schedule for the remaining months of the Premier League campaign.
“I cannot see it today that way,” he said. “You go through the competition and win, it’s magnificent. If it’s not and it affects your plans in the league, it’s a different story.
“But we wanted to go through and we put everything in. The effort the boys put in, when it wasn’t our best day, the hunger and the desire they showed to win, the way they were tacking back, was incredible.
“They really wanted it and today it didn’t happen. We need to put the head up and now look for Palace. It’s what it is. It’s 11 games and the first one starts on Sunday.”
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