Riccardo Calafiori reveals what Mikel Arteta told Arsenal players at half-time vs Sunderland

Mikel Arteta had a simple message for his Arsenal players at half-time against Sunderland, with his side 1-0 down at the Stadium of Light at the time.

Former Arsenal academy product Dan Ballard sent the hosts ahead after 36 minutes, ending the Gunners’ run of eight consecutive clean sheets in all competitions. The north Londoners struggled in the first half to break the hosts down and Riccardo Calafiori has revealed what was said in the away dressing room at the interval.

“[Arteta] just said that we needed to basically win our duels and then from there we could start to play our game, so that’s what we did," the left-back said. "I think you would have seen on the pitch in the second half, I think we deserved it, we played better than them and just in one action you concede, and you draw the game, but this is the level.”

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Arsenal came out firing in the second period, with Bukayo Saka levelling with a low effort nine minutes after the restart. Leandro Trossard sent the visitors ahead with a stunning effort from outside the area a short while later before Brian Brobbey scored a last-gasp equaliser.

Calafiori did have the chance to win it late on but saw his header saved by Robin Roefs before Mikel Merino’s rebound was blocked. Reflecting on that moment, the Italian said: “I didn’t know if I wanted to make an assist or to shoot on goal because the goalkeeper was coming really close to me. At the end Mikel was also there, so I don’t know, it’s a matter of actions.

“I think you can see we are really, really disappointed, especially because we came back. I really liked our reaction in the second half. I think we deserved [the win] and we dominated the game. At the end, for a matter of a duel or one action, we lost some points here."

The 2-2 draw leaves Arsenal top of the Premier League going into the November international break and Calafiori is happy with how the opening months of the campaign have played out.

“I’m so happy to be part of this team, this defensive line,” he added. “Whoever plays, I think we do really good, but I don’t really care about the record, I just want to win every game and try to concede as least as possible.

“We are top of the league so we must be happy at least, we need to think about that. We need to think about the next game which will be tough, and actually many games that will be tough in the next few months, so we are fully focused and I’m proud of my team so far.”