Arteta says 'my eyes were in pain' watching Brighton loss back

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Mikel Arteta did not hold back when describing just how uncomfortable it was to review Arsenal's 3-0 defeat to Brighton before the international break, admitting the week that followed was spent questioning everything about that performance.

Arsenal returned from the break with a 2-1 win over Leeds, coming from behind after James Justin had put the visitors ahead. A triple substitution in the second half changed the game, with Riccardo Calafiori and Bruno Guimaraes both scoring to turn the result around and move the Gunners back to winning ways.

Arteta on the Brighton hangover

Speaking after the Leeds win, Arteta explained how badly the Brighton result had affected him in the days that followed, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

'(It was) not great, especially because you question yourself, what you haven't done in that game to be able to witness that again, my eyes were in pain,' Arteta said.

The manager framed the Leeds match as a chance to put things right after what he described as a performance that fell well short of Arsenal's standards. 'We weren't pleased against Brighton and today was an opportunity to put that right. We certainly reacted in the manner we expected,' he added.

Arteta also pointed to the difficulty of the early kick-off slot coming off the back of a defeat. 'With 12:30pm at home after a defeat, it is a bad mixture and we got out of that through pinching our desire to win, to have a reaction, to show the personality and courage that we have in this team,' he said.

Guimaraes praised for impact off the bench

Arteta singled out Guimaraes for special praise after his introduction sparked the turnaround against Leeds, with the midfielder scoring what the manager called a 'beauty' of a goal.

'The timing, the connection and the execution of it, it was a beauty,' Arteta said. 'He's done it twice already, against Sunderland and against Leeds as well and that's the quality that is needed at this level to continue to win.'

He was also direct in contrasting that display with Guimaraes' showing at Brighton. 'He wasn't at that level against Brighton and this is the level for Arsenal. Every week, every game, every minute, every action you have to be at that level,' Arteta said, adding that he intends to hold the rest of the squad to the same expectation going forward.

Arsenal will look to build on the Leeds win and carry that improved intensity into their next set of fixtures as the season continues.