Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes his side can benefit from their 3-2 pre-season defeat to Borussia Dortmund despite admitting the result was disappointing.
The Gunners twice fought back from behind at the Emirates Stadium but ultimately fell short as Dortmund claimed victory in an entertaining friendly.
Arteta said Arsenal were unhappy with the defeat but insisted the result provides an opportunity for the team to identify and correct their weaknesses before the new season.
“We lost the game, obviously not happy about it. Things obviously have to be improved,” Arteta said.
“Certain players need to get more minutes and rhythm, which is going to be really helpful.”
The Arsenal boss also stressed that his players must retain the competitive mentality required to win games, even when the fixture is only a pre-season test.
“It has to hurt whether it is a friendly match, a test or whatever you want to call it,” he said.
“But yeah, we know where we are. We know that we are missing still a lot of players and some players that haven’t had enough training. And yeah, sometimes it [losing] is good.”
Arteta was particularly concerned by the goals Arsenal have conceded during pre-season, admitting the defensive lapses must be addressed.
“We conceded some poor goals the other day, some poor goals today,” he said. “In the way we competed, especially.”
The Spaniard stressed that improving defensively would require a collective effort rather than blaming individual players.
“But that’s a very collective responsibility. So we need to improve with the players that we have.”
Arteta also hinted that Arsenal could still look to strengthen their squad in the transfer market as they prepare for the new campaign.
“And [if] we want to improve [in the market], for sure we will,” he added.
With the Premier League season approaching, Arsenal will now look to use their remaining pre-season fixtures to build fitness, improve their defensive organisation and integrate players returning from international duty.
