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LONDON. – Mikel Arteta was fuming with his Arsenal players at half-time of their FA Cup third round 1-0 win over Leeds United on Monday night, with Alexandre Lacazette revealing that his manager “shouted a lot” in the dressing room.
The Gunners really struggled against the English Championship football side in the first 45 minutes at the Emirates, surviving a host of chances to get into the break at 0-0.
Leeds were first to the ball and forced a string of mistakes from their Premier League opponents who could not handle the energy of the Yorkshire side. Arsenal went on to win the game with a vastly improved second half performance, with Reiss Nelson scoring the only goal of the game to book them a spot in the fourth round.
Lacazette, who won the Man-of-the-Match award, says that this turnaround was down to some angry scenes in the Emirates dressing room at the break.
“He (Arteta) shouted a lot, he was not happy because we knew they were going to play like this and we didn’t respect what he said. In the second half it was a lot better and thank you Reiss for the goal.”
While he is just weeks into his first role in management, Arteta is viewed as having a more cerebral approach than a blood and thunder one.
However, match-winner Nelson says that a bit of aggression is a positive to have in a top level coach.
“I think that’s good,” said the 20-year-old. “As a coach you’ve got to have that aggressive side and obviously the side where it’s love as well. In training he’s always asking us to press with passion and play with purpose and I think it’s all paying off. It gives us confidence to go forward.”
Arteta has admitted that his Arsenal players failed to heed his advice as they struggled badly in the first half of their 1-0 win over Leeds in the FA Cup third round on Monday night.
The Gunners were fortunate to go into the break level at 0-0 against the Championship outfit, with Leeds dominating the contest and creating numerous opportunities. However, the home side turned things around and were significantly better in the second period, forcing a narrow win thanks to a goal from Nelson.-Metro.
Online Reporter