Arsenal win at Napoli leaves Mikel Arteta furious with three players

Mikel Arteta praised Arsenal’s performance after their 1-0 Champions League victory over Napoli but was visibly angry with Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke and Christos Tzolis late in the match.

Arsenal were the stronger side in Italy and created several opportunities, yet their failure to convert those chances threatened to cost them all three points. Their dominance was finally rewarded in the 75th minute when captain Martin Ødegaard scored the decisive goal.

The result continued Arsenal’s impressive form in the league phase of the competition. They won all eight of their matches in the European tournament last season and made an excellent start to this campaign with victory over Napoli.

Arteta was pleased with the overall display, although he admitted that his only frustration was Arsenal’s inability to settle the contest earlier.

“We completely deserved the three points,” he told TNT Sports after the final whistle. “Perhaps the performance does not reflect the result because the team was excellent.”

He added, as reported by the English newspaper Metro: “We showed a lot of quality in many moments to break through their defence, and it was unfortunate that we missed so many great chances.”

“In any other game, the result could have been different,” Arteta continued. “Considering the number of chances we created, we should have dealt with it differently, but in the end we got the win.”

The Arsenal manager also highlighted the importance of Ødegaard’s contribution. The captain’s late goal secured a result that had appeared increasingly uncertain during a match in which Arsenal had been unable to turn their chances into goals.

“Martin is contributing goals that have an impact on results, and that is what we want from our attacking players,” Arteta said. “We want them to be decisive, and he certainly was today as well.”

However, the Arsenal manager’s satisfaction was briefly replaced by anger during the closing stages.

Arsenal missed a major opportunity to score a second goal late in the match. As Napoli attempted to launch a counter-attack after that missed chance, TNT Sports commentator Lucy Ward noticed Arteta shouting at Havertz, Madueke and Tzolis and demanding that they recover their positions.

“Mikel Arteta was extremely angry on the touchline because Havertz, Madueke and Tzolis did not recover after that attack,” Ward said.

“It was very interesting. As Arsenal’s attack came to an end, all three of them were making their way back slowly. Mikel Arteta ran along the touchline and shouted at them to return to their positions.”

The incident provided a sharp contrast to Arteta’s wider assessment of the night. Arsenal had controlled the game, created enough opportunities to win more comfortably and ultimately secured victory through Ødegaard, but the manager’s reaction showed his continued focus on discipline and defensive responsibility even during a successful performance.

With the result, Arsenal began their latest European campaign with a hard-fought win in Italy, although Arteta was left demanding greater efficiency in front of goal and a quicker response from his attacking players when possession was lost.