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Mikel Arteta admitted that Arsenal did not do enough to beat Brighton in their 0-0 draw and put it down to their poor decision making.

Arsenal were somewhat lucky to even come away with a point in a tough match away at the Amex Stadium. Against a more clinical opponent they could well have been heading back to north London having been on the receiving end of a hefty defeat. Ultimately, they managed to earn a point.

Brighton were the better side, though, and consequently brought an end to the four-game winning streak in all competitions that has put Arteta in contention for the manager of the month award for September.

The Gunners boss accepted the outcome of the match, which was a timely reminder that they are still very much a work in progress.

Arteta told Match of the Day: “In the first half we struggled to dominate the game. They proposed a really aggressive game, we struggled to break the press and that caused us problems because there was a lot of transitions and one-on-one situations that we could not deal with.

“We improved a little bit in the second half and had a couple open situations that could have been big chances.

“We managed to get a point today because we defended the last 15-20 metres of the pitch really well. I think for the rest there is a lot of things we have to get better at.”

Specifying what went wrong, he continued: “I was more concerned about the way we played.

“We didn’t make enough right decision. Every time there was a duel where we could escape pressure and attack open spaces we came up short and against this structure we had to do better.”

Arteta admits Arsenal didn’t deserve win

With that in mind, they were unable to make many chances. In fact, both sides only managed two shots on targets apiece.

Arteta thought his side were unlucky with one of them, but that didn’t mean they deserved a different outcome.

He said: “[Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s header] was probably the only open situation in the first half, and we were unlucky not to score it.

“I don’t think we deserved to win the game. We have to take the draw with the performance we had today and improve.”

That said, there was a positive to take with the keeping of another clean sheet. Aaron Ramsdale made a couple of important interventions in goal in the later stages.

Since the last international break, Arsenal have kept four clean sheets from five games, which Arteta is pleased with.

He said of their form: “We have conceded one goal in the last five games which is really positive. It is a really positive block of games that has helped us change the situation.

“We can now focus on the things we are doing well and work on the ones we need to improve.”

READ MORE: Summer signing battered in individual battle as Arsenal get lucky against Brighton – player ratings

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