Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has insisted his team did not “switch off” when conceding a late equaliser against Slavia Prague, but made a “bad decision” in giving away the corner.
The Gunners missed a couple of second half chances, but finally made the breakthrough when substitute Nicolas Pepe slotted home.
However, Arteta’s men were unable to see out a precious Europa League first-leg victory, as Slavia Prague grabbed an all-important away goal through Tomas Holes.
It left Arteta frustrated on the touchline, having been looking for a reaction from his side after a limp 3-0 defeat by Liverpool on Sunday.
He said: “I don’t think they switched off, I think we made a bad decision, playing the ball into an area where we got trapped and from there, we conceded the corner. Apart from that, I don’t think it is the case.
“What was missing is that when you create big chances in Europe, you have to take them. I think we merited much more than the result that we got.
“When we made the most difficult thing, which was to score the first goal and just wait for the last four or five minutes and manage the game much better than we did, we failed to do that and then we gave them the opportunity in the corner and they scored the goal to tie the match and [put us] in a different position. Looking back to what happened on the pitch, it’s not what we expect.
“The mentality of my team? No, I don’t have any concerns.”
