Mikel Arteta has responded to Rwanda President Paul Kagame’s ‘mediocre’ Arsenal comments after they suffered defeat against Brentford last Friday.
The East African Head of State, who is an ardent Arsenal fan, gave his verdict about the team’s performance after they lost 2-0 in their Premier League season opener at Brentford Community Stadium.
Speaking to the press ahead of the team’s league match against Chelsea at Emirates on Sunday, Arteta was asked whether President Kagame had reached out to him or whether he agreed with his sentiments.
Arteta responded as quoted by Football London: “I agree that Arsenal should not accept mediocrity. I totally agree with that.”
Arteta further revealed he was not happy with some people who are trying to ‘bury’ him but could not mention names.
“I’m talking about the lack of clarity in the messages and using moments to try to come and using some very disrespectful ways to describe certain things. That’s what I’m saying. Nothing new.
“No, it’s not about pointing, it’s about expressing the feelings that are so obvious in moments like this,”Arteta continued.
The defeat by the promoted side which came courtesy of goals from Sergi Canos in the 22nd minute and Christian Norgaard in the 73rd minute saw Kagame took to social media to vent his frustration.
In a series of Twitter posts, Kagame called out Arsenal’s management and suggested the club fans don’t deserve their current predicament.
“What?? It’s football, it’s a loss for Arsenal against Brentford,” Kagame wrote on his social media pages. “Brentford deserved to win and they did.
“The game itself aside, Arsenal and the fans don’t deserve to kind of get used to this….NO!!! I say this as one of the big fans of Arsenal.
“The change has taken too long to come!” he added.
