Mikel Arteta said Arsenal should have scored “three or four” goals in the first half of their 2-1 Champions League victory at Slavia Prague, while admitting his side surrendered control after the interval.
The result on Matchday 4 of the league phase secured Arsenal’s third win in the competition this season, but Arteta was unhappy with the way his players performed in the second half.
“It was a game of two very different halves,” said the Arsenal manager. “In the first half, I thought we played at a very high level at times, we were exceptional. We should have had three or four goals to show for it, but we didn’t manage to score them.”
Arsenal had made six changes to their starting line-up, and Arteta said the decision to rotate heavily was one he would make again despite the drop in performance following the break.
“I would still make the same decision because these lads deserve to play,” he said. “We know the quality of our players.”
Arteta warned his team at half-time that Slavia Prague would continue to fight, but felt Arsenal failed to respond to the challenge and allowed the match to become unnecessarily difficult.
“I told the players that our opponents were an incredibly determined team, that they would keep running and believing in themselves, and that the game would become more chaotic,” he said.
“We completely failed to take control. We were on the back foot from the start, played far too casually, gave the ball away too often and made too many poor clearances. We couldn’t keep possession or maintain our shape.
“When that happens, you have to suffer because every team in the Champions League is very good. We have a lot of lessons to learn.”
Asked why Arsenal’s intensity had fallen so sharply, Arteta said there were “many different reasons”, adding: “I’ve just mentioned some of them. I’ll keep the others in-house.”
The manager said Arsenal needed to follow their tactical plan more carefully when they failed to make their first-half dominance count.
“If you don’t manage it in the first half, you have to keep pushing in the second and stick to what we discussed the tactical principles and ideas you need to follow against a team that knows exactly what it wants to do,” he said. “Otherwise, you’ll quickly find yourself in trouble.”
Arteta also acknowledged the contribution of his reshaped attack, with Viktor Gyokeres scoring again and Noni Madueke continuing a strong run of form.
The victory came during a demanding period for Arsenal, who have already played 11 away games despite it being only early November. The trip to Slavia Prague was their third away match in seven days, before their attention turns to Hull City.
“I really appreciate the effort the team has put in,” Arteta said. “I understand how difficult that is, but we should be setting higher standards for ourselves.”
