Arteta makes defiant defence of Arsenal principles but has clear idea of next step they need to make

Mikel Arteta vowed that Arsenal will not change their style after winning the first leg of their Europa League clash with Olympiacos.

Arsenal took a strong step towards reaching the quarter-finals by beating Olympiacos 3-1 in the away leg of their Round of 16 tie.

At one point, it looked like they were heading for a draw – until Gabriel Magalhaes and Mohamed Elneny scored decisive goals. It leaves them in a very strong position ahead of next week’s reunion.

However, familiar mistakes threatened their chances, with Dani Ceballos giving the ball away in his own half for the goal they conceded.

Arteta knows they must cut out such errors to make further progress – but that doesn’t mean they will abandon their principles.

He told BT Sport: “We started the game really well, really dominant and creating a lot of chances.

“We gave them a goal trying to play out from the back but then we reacted well to score two more goals. Overall a really positive result but we have to stop making the errors that are costing goals because we cannot sustain that.

“It isn’t about concentration, it is about when you play the ball. It is not about stopping the way we play because this is us.”


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Arteta outlines next step for Arsenal

Arteta admits that the next step for his side will be to stay strong for a full match without giving away needless goals. He will be hoping that is the case in the return leg, as even though Arsenal have the advantage, the tie isn’t over.

He continued: “We were really solid, really dominant. We showed a lot of personality to come here and dominate like we did.

“The next thing is to do that for 90 minutes and give nothing to the opponent.

“This is half time and anything can happen. Full focus and we start 0-0 again in the second leg and try to win the game.”

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