Mikel Arteta speaks openly about the difficult victory in Prague and second-half mistakes

5 November 2026, 11:24·69·Sport

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta shared his thoughts following his team's 2-1 victory over Slavia in the Czech capital as part of the 4th round of the UEFA Champions League. In an exclusive interview with TNT Sports, the Spanish tactician highly valued the important three points earned, while also not shying away from addressing the problems and mistakes that arose in the second half.

Although Arteta was satisfied with his team's attacking performance in the first half, he emphasized that they must learn the necessary lessons from their passive play after the break.

"We saw two different halves": Squandered chances and pressure

The Gunners' manager highlighted the stark contrast between the two parts of the game:

Unused opportunities in the first half: "Every away win in the Champions League is valuable because winning on the road is always extremely difficult. We should have scored 3-4 goals in the first half, but we failed to fully capitalize on the favorable chances we created," said Arteta;
Defensive difficulties in the second half: The manager admitted that control was lost: "At the beginning of the second half, we were unexpectedly forced to defend deep. We made many mistakes and lost the ball too often. This game must be a big lesson for us."

"If the same situation happened again, I would make the same decision": On the 6 substitutions

The manager, who made 6 changes to the lineup during the match, defended his choices:

Player potential: "We made 6 substitutions. We know the strength and high potential of the players in our team very well. I cannot say exactly what was missing right now, but even if the same situation arose again, I would make the same decisions";
Tight schedule and away burden: Arteta acknowledged his team's physical resilience throughout the season: "I highly value the results our team has achieved so far. We have already played our 11th away match to date."

Following the victory in Prague, Arsenal reached 10 points in the overall group table, solidifying their position in the top three.