Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret felt they paid for their poor start in defeat at Europa League opponents Arsenal.

Meret was able to keep the first-leg scoreline to 2-0.

“It was an ugly first half from us, we made a lot of mistakes and were imprecise. We needed more courage playing out from the back," the goalkeeper told Sky Sport Italia.

“However, we played much better after the break and created the chances. We know it'll be very difficult, but we believe that we can turn it around in the second leg.

“We weren't as sharp as we should've been and the things we tried in training didn't come off. There were definite improvements after the break and we have to build on that.

“Arsenal above all struggle when we try to slice their defence open, so we need to work on that in the second leg. We have the San Paolo crowd behind us in the second leg and will give it our all.

“My toughest save was when they took a corner short and I had to make the save from the left. We need a great result in the second leg and that means starting from scratch with a whole new attitude. We've got to keep our heads up and give our best next week."