Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti says they paid for their timid" start in defeat at Europa League opponents Arsenal.

The Gunners were 2-0 winners for the first-leg of their quarterfinal tie.

Ancelotti said: "I was surprised, because one of the things we wanted was to have a courageous start. Instead, we were worried, scared and they punished us for our lack of precision.

“It became very difficult to come back from that. We did to a degree, making fewer errors and creating two very big scoring opportunities for an away goal that would've made the second leg considerably less complicated.

“Nonetheless, we hope the fans will play an important part and help us turn this around, shaking off that fear and worry. We made too many mistakes. It's true Arsenal pressed us and we changed a few things to build out from the back differently, but it was honestly surprising to see so many cheap errors."