Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka admits they never laid a hand on Arsenal in their FA Cup defeat.
Karanka thought his side may have been lulled into a false sense of security having already collected the scalp of City, as well as taking Liverpool to penalties in a Capital One Cup tie at Anfield, as the second-placed side in the Sky Bet Championship came up short.
"I think, especially in the first half, we haven't played in the way we like to," he said.
"It is difficult to beat teams like Arsenal and if you want to take something from games against Arsenal today you have to be perfect, like we were at the Etihad Stadium, and if you make mistakes it is difficult.
"I'm a little bit disappointed because everyone was expecting another game like we played against Liverpool or Man City and this is my biggest concern, we didn't go to the pitch in the way we usually go. In the first half I didn't like anything.
"It could be that the atmosphere (amongst the players) was very exciting and everyone was expecting another win. The players maybe thought it was going to be easier because we played very well against Manchester City two or three weeks ago."
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