Mikel Arteta said Arsenal regret failing to move eight points clear at the top of the Premier League, but praised his players for their consistency during the festive period.
The Gunners are six points ahead of Manchester City and Aston Villa after being held to a 0-0 draw by champions Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on Thursday.
Conor Bradley hit the crossbar for Liverpool in the first half while Gabriel Magalhães had arguably Arsenal’s best chance, heading wide in second-half stoppage-time.
Bradley was stretchered off after an altercation with Gabriel Martinelli in which the Brazilian appeared to push him off the pitch despite suffering an apparently serious injury.
Arsenal ended the Christmas period with five wins and a draw from their league matches, but asked whether the stalemate with Liverpool felt like a missed opportunity to extend their advantage, Arteta said: “Yes, every time you don’t win [it feels that way], but then we would have been 12, 15 or 20 points ahead.
“I have to really praise the players individually for what they’ve done in this Christmas period, because the demands on the schedule are unbelievable and what they’ve done is remarkable, so to come out of this period with all the issues that we had in the strong position that we are, I think the boys deserve my credit and everybody’s recognition.”
Arsenal laboured for long periods — as they did against Everton, Wolves and Brighton in recent weeks. Asked whether every point felt like a grind to win, Arteta replied: “I had this feeling since August and I think we all have the same, every manager, every player, every team, because this is the level of this league and you see how difficult it is.
“What it makes me feel very proud is because I know how difficult it is and I recognise what the players are doing.”
