Arsene Wenger admitted Arsenal’s "nightmare" first half could have cost them any hope of a point in their thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool at the Emirates.
The Gunners had only the careless finishing of Jurgen Klopp’s side to thank as they returned to the dressing room at the interval trailing to Philippe Coutinho’s 26th-minute header.
Sadio Mane chose to acrobatically volley over a goal only protected by Hector Bellerin, while Mohamed Salah miscued a shot from the edge of the area as Liverpool cut through Arsenal’s backline at will.
Wenger admitted his side could have had no complaints if Liverpool were out of sight as they wasted a string of chances.
"To be completely honest it could have been game over at half-time," he said. "We had a nightmare first half. We played too far from each other, [were] not compact enough, not composed enough.
"Overall by half-time we could have been punished more… I must give credit to the players because even at 2-0 we didn’t give in any weakness. We have shown great spirit and come back.
"What can you say? It was a fantastic game with quality going forward on both sides. Us more on quick combinations, them more on fantastic counter-attacking pace."
The Arsenal manager is not known for losing his cool in the dressing room at half-time but there were signs of an immediate reaction - even though Salah doubled Liverpool’s lead on 52 minutes.
Wenger was reluctant to be drawn on whether it was him or his players who had led the half-time inquest but he reeled off a lengthy list of changes that were required to help the Gunners fight back.
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He told Standard Sport: "I would keep [what was said at half-time] private a little bit. The positive thing is we were only 1-0 down.
"We played too deep basically. We had to push high up and support our strikers much more and play with the handbrake off.
"We kicked the ball anywhere at the back - they won too many second balls. We had too many problems on long balls because we did not have the composure to put the ball down and play."
Salah’s strike prompted an almighty fightback from Arsenal, who scored three in five minutes through Alexis Sanchez, Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil.
There was a sting in the tail for the Gunners though as their defence allowed Roberto Firmino too much space on the edge of the box. He swivelled and shot powerfully at goal, with Petr Cech only able to get a glove on a ball that looped into his goal.
Firmino’s strike was hit with venom but close to the veteran goalkeeper. Wenger, though, thinks his goalkeeper could not have done much more.
"I don’t know how he could have done better there," Wenger added. "He had a classy game today."