Arsenal midfielder Kim Little said that last night’s 4-1 UEFA Women’s Champions League defeat to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim simply wasn’t good enough by the club’s high standards.
The Gunners limped into the competition’s quarter-finals but they were given a bit of a scare by a Hoffenheim side which profited from some defensive mistakes and slack marking.
When speaking in the post-match press conference, Little admitted that Arsenal’s performance had been poor and that the team must do better.
“I don’t feel great right now,” Little said. “It is a positive that we made it through to the quarter-finals but the level that we are at, we have higher expectations than the results that we have had in the past couple of weeks.
“I am quite disappointed with our performance today, individually I will reflect and as a team we know that it’s just not good enough, we need to be better.
“Of course, it is great that we have made it through to the quarter-finals which is a great achievement.”
Arsenal conceded three goals in five second half minutes and Little highlighted that period as the most disappointing in the game.
She said “We lost control for a 10-minute period and conceded those goals in quick succession and it just felt out of our reach. We recomposed ourselves a bit and we made sure that we didn’t concede again and we took advantage of a couple of opportunities going forward.
“It is hard to put it into words but ultimately, we had a really poor 10-minute spell and we need to reflect on that and not concede goals when we are under periods of pressure.”
Arsenal complete their 2021 fixtures with a home match against Brighton & Hove Albion at Meadow Park on Sunday evening.