Arteta: 'Arsenal knew the scenario beforehand but still conceded'

After the thrilling 1-1 draw at BayArena, Mikel Arteta bluntly criticized his players' lack of concentration leading to the quick conceded goal, while also emphasizing the need to maintain emotional calmness.

Mikel Arteta entered the press conference after the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 with mixed emotions. Although Arsenal managed to secure a draw against Bayer Leverkusen, the Spanish strategist could not hide his disappointment about how his team started the second half.

Less than a minute after the restart, David Raya's net was shaken by Robert Andrich's header - a scenario Arteta claimed he had warned his players about beforehand.

Speaking to TNT Sports, Arteta expressed his frustration: "We wanted to start the second half strongly, but things turned out completely opposite. We began by not paying enough attention to the kick-off procedure, which we had discussed before the match. From that, they had a clear header opportunity, and then scored. The complexion of the match completely changed from that moment."

He emphasized that these were specific details that had been thoroughly prepared: "We knew they had certain procedures because they had done it three consecutive times in the Bundesliga. We showed the players images, but they didn't execute it on the pitch and we paid the price."

Nevertheless, the biggest positive in Arteta's eyes was the ability to control psychology when falling into a difficult situation. He praised the team not crumbling after conceding: "After that, we had to maintain emotional calmness. We improved in some aspects thanks to personnel changes. The team had a stronger presence, created more threats on the wings, and eventually found a way to equalize."

The substitutions from the bench were the key to helping "The Gunners" turn the tide. Noni Madueke and especially Kai Havertz received high praise from their manager. Regarding Madueke, Arteta commented: "He was really good. Immediately, he changed the tempo, momentum, and threat."

Meanwhile, for Havertz - who scored the decisive penalty on his return to his former home, Arteta showed great admiration: "The way he executed the penalty was truly impressive. That calmness brought us an extremely important goal."

Closing the interview, Arteta called on his players to show their best form at Emirates next midweek: "The score is very balanced now. We must take advantage of the home advantage; there is still a lot of work to do."