Mikel Arteta brands Arsenal stars ‘extremely far from our standards’ in Slavia Prague win | Football

Mikel Arteta was not impressed with his Arsenal team in the second half of their 2-1 win at Slavia Prague on Wednesday, saying they were ‘extremely far from our standards’ after the interval.

The Gunners continued their unbeaten start to the Champions League group stage with victory in Czech Republic, with three wins and a draw from their opening four games.

Noni Madueke opened the scoring after just nine minutes and the Premier League champions had a two-goal lead by half-time thanks to Viktor Gyokeres.

Slavia Prague made things difficult for their high profile guests, though, producing 18 shots over the match and scoring a late consolation through Wiktor Novak.

Arteta praised the Czech side, who have picked up just one point from four matches, but accepted that the second half performance from his men left a lot to be desired.

‘First of all, you have to value the fact it’s very difficult to win away from home,’ Arteta told a 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.’

The Gunners boss felt his team learned a ‘huge lesson’ in the victory and took responsibility for his players struggling.

‘I already talked about some of the things we didn’t do, and others I’d prefer not to mention,’ he continued. ‘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.’

Goalkeeper David Raya had a similar report to his manager and said Arsenal must improve as the campaign continues.

‘First half, we played really really well. We dominated the whole game, created a lot of chances and could have scored a few more goals,’ he said.

‘The second half was a completely different half. From them, they went up a gear. We were a little bit surprised and they made it really difficult for us – which we have to learn from.

‘We know how important away games are and how difficult places like this can be. They became man-to-man all over the pitch.

‘Delighted with the win, but we’ve got things to improve going forwards.’

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