Why Mikel Arteta raged at three Arsenal players after being caught out by pundit

Mikel Arteta wasn't impressed(Image: Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Mikel Arteta was furious with three Arsenal players during his side's Champions League victory over Napoli. The Spaniard was unable to hide his anger at his side's actions after they wasted an opportunity to extend their 1-0 lead.

Captain Martin Odegaard scored the game's decisive goal to give Arsenal three points in their opening match of the league phase in Italy. The Denmark international netted in the 75th minute to begin the Gunners' campaign to finish one place better in the competition than last year after losing to Paris Saint-Germain in the final.

But, with the north London side still vulnerable to an equaliser, they had a key opportunity to put the match beyond doubt in the 85th minute. Vanja Milinkovic-Savic saved Noni Madueke's chance before Christos Tzolis saw his effort blocked off the line.

But it was not the missed opportunities that drew Arteta's ire as much as the reaction to them. Madueke and Tzolis were spotted not tracking back, as was forward Kai Havertz.

Arteta went ballistic on the sideline as the rest of his team tried to defend their lead. The Arsenal boss's fury was spotted by commentator Lucy Ward as he ran down the touchline.

"Mikel Arteta was absolutely raging on the sidelines that Havertz, Madueke and Tzolis weren’t recovering after that attack," she said. "It was so interesting.

Arsenal face Napoli in their opening Champions League fixture on September 9. Fans can watch the game live on TNT Sports via HBO Max or Prime Video's TNT Sports channel.

"As the Arsenal attack finished, those three all sort of ambled back, and Mikel Arteta ran down the sidelines and shouted at them to recover."

Despite that moment, Arteta was pleased with his side's efforts overall. Asked if he was content with the result, he said: "Very, very happy.

"The way we attacked the game from the very first minute, the way we competed, the excitement that we had, how we had to attack them, how we had to disorganise them, the purpose, the quality, the amount of chances that we generated.

"For sure, again, the scoreline has to reflect a very different result. We will get there, because if we are a bit more precise, it will be much bigger, but to do what we've done today in this stadium against this opponent is remarkable from the team."

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