Manuel Pellegrini has insisted he is happy with how his West Ham United team played despite falling to a 3-1 Premier League defeat at Arsenal.
The Irons took the lead at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday thanks to a cool Marko Arnautovic finish, but left without the points as a Nacho Monreal strike, an Issa Diop own-goal and late Danny Welbeck effort gave the home side the result.
Despite losing a third game in succession, the boss believes his team showed a lot of attacking intent and were only beaten because of an own-goal, and a finish netted while his side tried to level late on.
I’m very happy about how we played. The team, in the current way, created a lot of chances. We played well, with good pace and good movement.
Manuel Pellegrini
“Arsenal won 3-1, but if you analyse the game we had many opportunities to score a goal before,” Pellegrini said. “We were very unlucky with the own-goal that put Arsenal on top, and the last goal was in the last minute when we are trying to get back in the game.
“I’m very happy about how we played. The team, in the current way, created a lot of chances. We played well, with good pace and good movement. I’m sure a victory will come.”
The Chilean feels that his team is improving on a weekly basis, and can see the positives in West Ham’s performance.
He continued: “I’m happy with the team. I think the team played well and I think we were a team that defended well. Okay, Arsenal scored three goals at the end, but they didn’t create many chances, so I’m happy that we’ve improved as a team and we’re improving every week.
“I think, from the game today, fans will see we are on our way.”
Having gone ahead thanks to Arnautovic’s second goal of the season, West Ham saw the Austrian substituted after picking up a knock, with Chicharito replacing the No7.
On Arnautovic’s setback, Pellegrini added: “We will see during the week what happened with Marko. He felt a pain in his muscle.
“Antonio also has a problem with his ankle, but I hope that they will recover.”