The head coach of London’s Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, commented on his team’s victory over Donetsk’s Shakhtar (1:0) in yesterday’s match of the 3rd round of the group stage of the Champions League.
"Two completely different halves. We looked very sharp in the first half of the match, dominated and created a number of excellent chances, which, unfortunately, we did not convert. Playing in the penalty area is of utmost importance.
In the second half, I felt that the team got tired: we lost our mobility and determination in our actions with the ball. At times we were quite careless.
We gave Shakhtar a lot of air and space. They are a dangerous team and had good moments in the game. Credit to them, as they coped well, but the truth is that in some moments we handled the ball very carelessly. There was no consistency in our play. We missed two excellent chances, one of which from a penalty should have completely changed the course of the game. That did not happen, and the opponent continued to resist.
Overall, we are satisfied, as victories in this tournament are hard to come by," UEFA’s official website quotes Arteta.