Unai Emery says Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ first half dismissal was to blame for Arsenal’s 3-0 loss at Leicester on Sunday.
Arsenal’s top four hopes took a major blow as they were convincingly beaten at the King Power Stadium, Jamie Vardy scoring twice for the hosts.
Emery’s side were reduced to 10 men in the first half following Maitland-Niles’ second yellow card, and the Spaniard admits the youngster’s dismissal affected his side’s game plan.
“We worked, we prepared our game plan, 11 v 11 the match was going like we prepared,” Emery told the BBC.
“For me the first yellow card for [Maitland-Niles] is not for me, it has affected our game plan a lot. One player less is difficult.
“Today the condition [for losing] is the red card.
“We will continue, we will not look at the table, the Europa League is a big motivation for us to win it.”
Arsenal next host Spanish side Valencia in the Europa League semi-finals, with the first leg to be played at the Emirates on Thursday.
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