Mikel Arteta Wants More ‘Control’ From His Players

Mikel Arteta demanded more control from his players after a narrow victory in Olympiakos.

Alexandre Lacazette scored the only goal of the game to give the Gunners a crucial advantage away from home.

Arsenal did manage a win but looked far from convincing going forward. “It’s a really good result. First of all to win away in Europe but to come to a ground like this and win, credit to the lads,” Arteta told BT Sport.

“We suffered for the first 10 minutes, we gave the ball away too much and couldn’t get any continuity in our play. In the second half, apart from the set pieces, we controlled the game much better. We could have put the tie in a better position. We had positions and chances where we’d expect the players to put the ball in the net.

“We’re going game-by-game. There are a lot of things we want to improve. I still see things that mean we can’t control the game and damage the opponent. But we are playing with a lot of commitment. We had three players with cramp, struggling at the end.”

Arsenal are due to host Everton next on Sunday, a crucial tie in their pursuit of a top four finish this season.