Mikel Arteta has explained why Arsenal lost control after half-time against Slavia Prague, while admitting there were parts of the second-half drop-off he would rather keep private.
Mikel Arteta has explained Arsenal’s second-half drop-off against Slavia Prague, admitting his side lost their structure and repeatedly gave the ball away as they held on for a 2-1 Champions League win.
Arsenal had been in control before the break, but the game changed after half-time as Slavia created multiple chances and Arteta’s side fell well below the standards they had set in the opening 45 minutes when they could have been out of sight instead of just two goals up.
The manager said his Arsenal side had been warned to expect a response from the hosts, particularly after failing to turn their first-half superiority into a more comfortable lead. It was a warning they did not seem to heed.
“First of all, you have to value the fact it’s very difficult to win away from home,” Arteta said at his post-match press conference.
“We’ve done it against a very tough opponent, we expected that toughness. Two very different halves – the first we played at a really high level in terms of intensity, tempo, quality and clarity in what we had to do, and what the game was demanding.
“We were very efficient – we should have scored three, four or five.
“We didn’t make that gap, and at half-time, the message was clear. There was still a lot to do in the game – this was a team we were up against with huge spirit, and if you give them something, they will grab it.
“Right from the beginning of the half, we were extremely far from our standards, the basics, the concepts, and everything we discussed to avoid. It was far from what we expect from each other, but we found a way to hold onto the result and win the game.”
He was less willing to discuss every factor behind the poor performance.
Asked what he put the drop off down to he said, “I mentioned a few things there, and some others I’ll keep to myself.”
Slavia were able to put Arsenal under sustained pressure during the second half with 17 shots, six of which were on target, and Arteta again accepted that his side had failed to do several of the things they had discussed beforehand.
“I already talked about some of the things we didn’t do, and others I’d prefer not to mention,” he said.
“It’s a huge lesson, and we’ll learn from the second half. It’s our third away game in quick succession, and we’re the only team to have played three away games in the Champions League and just one at home – there are a lot of factors – but I don’t like to use that, because in the first half we were at the level we wanted.
“I take full responsibility for the drop in the second half.”
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