Bukayo Saka has warned his Arsenal team-mates that they can’t afford to “put a foot wrong” in the second leg of their last-32 Europa League tie with Benfica.
The Gunners drew the first leg with Benfica in Rome on Thursday night 1-1 after Saka’s goal in the 57th minute cancelled out Pizzi’s penalty just two minutes earlier.
It means Arsenal head to Athens next Thursday for their ‘home’ leg with a slight advantage as they have an away goal to their name.
But Saka has warned his team-mates they can’t afford to have any lapses in concentration after being in similar position last season.
Arsenal were leading Olympiacos 1-0 going into the second leg a year ago, but ended up being dumped out at Emirates Stadium by a 119th-minute winner in extra time.
“We can’t put a foot wrong because if we do we will make it difficult for ourselves,” said Saka.
“It is about managing the game. Last year when we went out to Olympiacos we conceded a silly goal.
“We had a lot of chances tonight [against Benfica]. We dominated the whole game. They got a lucky penalty, which I don’t think was. We had to react well.
“We got a goal back and could have gone on to win it. It’s not the worst result, we got an away goal.
“If we play like that again then I feel like we just need to take our chances and we’ll definitely go through to the next round.”
