Mikel Arteta fires warning to Arsenal players despite 3-1 win over Olympiakos
- Arteta urged his team to be a bit more careful when seeing out games
- The Gunners conceded another soft goal against Olympiakos
- They however take a three away-goal cushion to the second leg in the round of 16
PAY ATTENTION: Join Legit.ng Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was very critical of his Arsenal side despite their 3-1 win over Olympiakos as he described his side as “their own worst enemies”.
Source: Getty Images
Loanee Martin Odegaard opened the Gunners scoring on Thursday night with a well taken shot but the London side was guilty of some defensive lapses once again as they allowed Olympiaakos back into the game in the 58th minute.
Were it not for late goals from Gabriel and Mohammed Elneny, it would have been the same story of disappointment from an Arsenal point of view.
Speaking after the game, the Spanish boss urged his side to be more ruthless in terms of finishing the game off.
"We have to be very clear and honest with ourselves. We gave three chances to the opponent, they took one and at that level they are going to punish you," Arteta said.
"If we want to go to the next level we have to stop that and be more ruthless and when we are that dominant, kill the games off."
For Olympiakos’ equaliser, keeper Bernd Leno played Dani Ceballos into trouble, allowing Youssef El Arabi to score.
This was a similar tale for the Gunners, who also conceded soft goals against Burnley and Benfica last month, and it proved costly on both occasions.
"The goals and chances we have conceded are coming from ourselves," Arteta added.
"That's positive because when we stop it, we will be stronger. The reality is that we have to stop it immediately. It's my responsibility. I make them play the way we want to play it is just understanding the risk and reward."
Arteta will however be glad that his side have three away goals against Olympiakos, meaning there is little to no chance of an upset like it happened in the same fixture last season.
Arsenal: Favorites to win the Europa League?
A look at Arssenal’s form in the competition would peg them as one of the favorites to clinch the Europa League.
Despite their domestic troubles, the Gunners have won eight of their nine Europa League games this season, with the other won ending in a draw.
Ibitoye Shittu is an award winning Sports Journalist with more than 10 years experience in News-writing, reporting and Public Relation. He is an HND and B.SC holder of Mass Communication and can be reached on Twitter @Ibishittu
Source: Legit.ng
