AC Milan skipper, Leonardo Bonucci, admitted his side were ‘a little scared’ of Arsenal as they lost 2-0 in their Europa League Round of 16 first leg at the San Siro on Thursday.
Two first half goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey, ended Arsenal’s run of four straight games without a win in all competitions.
The defeated ended Milan’s 13-game unbeaten run, their first defeat in 2018.
Reacting to the defeat, Bonucci believes the lack of experience in the squad may have had an effect.
“We did not have the right mentality right from the get go,” the former Juventus star told Sky Sport Italia.
“We were a little scared since we are so young. Let’s hope we learn from this.
“It is hard but we will have to give it a go [in the second leg]. Anything can happen in football so we have to stay positive.
“Arsenal ran a lot and they have a lot of quality but we also made mistakes. We didn’t play as a team so that’s what you get. We had to be smarter and more responsible with the ball, this we know.
“We were too nervous and excited, everyone made mistakes.”
Bonucci however expressed believe Milan can still progress of they replicate their second half display.
“In the second half we played with more courage but it wasn’t enough. Credit to Arsenal, who played a great first half. If we play in London with the same spirit we showed in the second half, we might be able to pull it off.”
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