Arteta demands Arsenal response after second-half collapse at Slavia Prague

Mikel Arteta said Arsenal fell “extremely far” below their usual standards after half-time in their 2-1 Champions League win at Slavia Prague.

The victory was Arsenal’s third in four matches in the competition, but their display changed sharply after the interval. They had controlled the first half, with Viktor Gyokeres scoring before creating Noni Madueke’s goal to establish a two-goal lead.

Slavia Prague responded strongly in the second half and applied sustained pressure, leaving Arsenal defending their advantage rather than controlling the match.

“Right from the beginning of the half, we were extremely far from our standards, the basics, the concepts and everything we discussed to avoid,” Arteta said.

“It was far from what we expect from each other, but we found a way to hold onto the result and win the game.”

Arsenal’s manager was much happier with their work before the break, saying they had shown the intensity, speed and quality required to dominate the contest.

“We played at a really high level in terms of intensity, tempo, quality and clarity in what we had to do,” he said. “We were very efficient – we should have scored three, four or five.”

Arteta accepted responsibility for the team’s decline and said the match would provide an important lesson, while also referring to the demands of playing three successive away matches in the Champions League.

“It’s a huge lesson, and we’ll learn from the second half,” he said. “I take full responsibility for the drop in the second half.”

Gyokeres provided one of the night’s main positives, scoring once and assisting Madueke. Arteta was pleased with the striker’s overall performance, including his movement and link-up play against Slavia’s man-to-man midfield approach.

“He was really good,” Arteta said. “It’s really great news for him, because he really needed that performance.”

The manager praised Gyokeres’ judgement over when to come towards the ball and combine with teammates and when to attack the space behind Slavia’s defence. He also stressed that players who do not start every match must make an impact when their opportunity arrives.

“The players need to impact the game like he has done today when they get the opportunity,” Arteta said.

David Raya made several important saves as Slavia increased the pressure. Arteta praised the goalkeeper’s quality but said Arsenal were concerned about the events that had led to Raya being tested so heavily.

“We are concerned about what happened before that, which is something that obviously isn’t what we’ve shown in the past,” he said.

There were also fitness concerns over Ezri Konsa, who was substituted after experiencing problems following a demanding run of fixtures. Declan Rice played all 90 minutes after being rested against Fleetwood and given enough time to recover.

Arteta praised Slavia’s spirit, organisation and determination before turning his attention to Saturday’s Premier League match against Hull City at Emirates Stadium, where he expects a more consistent Arsenal performance.