Arsenal fans dig up old Mikel Arteta quote from his lowest ebb as manager after Inter defeat and it makes for damning reading

An old quote from Mikel Arteta has resurfaced after Arsenal's Champions League defeat by Inter Milan.

The Gunners dominated proceedings in the Italian capital but Hakan Calhanoglu's penalty in the first half sealed a 1-0 win for Inter.

Arteta's men had more of the ball, more shots on goal and created more chances but they were denied by a stubborn and compact Inter defence.

As a result of their defeat, Arsenal are now in 12th place in the Champions League table, five points behind leaders Liverpool.

On the back of the Inter match, an old Arteta quote from 2020 has resurfaced.

At the time, the Gunners boss said: "I think it's first time in the PL that we put 33 crosses. I'm telling you that if we do that more consistently we're going to score more goals.

"If we put the bodies we had in certain moments in the box, it's maths, pure maths & it will happen."

However, fans were quick to point out that Arsenal recorded 46 crosses against Inter and still failed to score.

Reacting on social media, one fan said: "46 crosses tonight and 0 goals."

Another tweeted: "How many crosses vs Inter? I told man we're back in 2020. Arteta's system now is just as stale & defensive as the one in 20/21 before ESR came in & saved him, this time he's waiting on Odegaard instead."

A third fan added: "Madman pulled up to San Siro with the same philosophy."

Someone else wrote: "He’s completely ruined my love of the sport."

A fifth commented: "4 years later same tactics."

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Speaking after the match, Arteta said: "The worst thing of the evening is the result for sure, because the level of performance, dominance that we had and chances we created, the way we played against one of the best teams in Europe in their stadium, I haven’t seen it in other games that I’ve watched.

"The reality is we lost the game and it’s very painful from our side because we had more than enough to get something out of the game, but there were situations that dictated the game."

He added: "This is the reality. The box is every decision. The box for and against is going to have a big impact because the margins are so small. Today in many areas on the pitch we made the margins much bigger and I expected a certain pattern. It wasn’t enough to win it."

Arsenal will be back in Premier League action this weekend when they take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.