Arsenal FC has lost for the first time in 18 competitive games. Gunners coach Mikel Arteta explained what led to the defeat at Aston Villa.
“We need to focus on ourselves and certain standards that we didn’t meet today, especially individually,” Mikel Arteta told TNT Sports. He didn’t want to deny his team’s willingness to fight, and indeed, the top match in Birmingham was characterized by intense tackles and numerous scoring chances – Arsenal had plenty of those too.
However, the Villans were more dangerous, apart from the phase between the restart and Leandro Trossard’s 1-1 equalizer. However, the league leaders failed to keep up the pressure after the equalizer. Villa gained momentum again and were the better team overall. “We weren’t dominant, we allowed them too much space. We lost two balls that could have cost us the game even before the actual goal,” Arteta complained.
Aston Villa struck with their last move, and Arteta quickly reviewed the unfortunate goal scored by former Leverkusen player Emiliano Buendia. “We don’t score, long goal kick, second ball, clearance, individual action, a lot of chaos in the penalty area, and in the end you lose the game. That’s painful,” summed up the Arsenal coach.
Emery gets Villa back on track
This reduced Villa’s gap to the league leaders to just three points – and now they are dreaming of a major coup in Birmingham. And why not? After a weak start to the season (three points after five games), this was the seventh competitive win in a row for coach Unai Emery’s team, making Villa the team of the moment.
“We ended the week with a game that showed how we need to play: we fought hard, challenged ourselves, adapted to our opponents and played with personality,” Emery praised. “We dominate at times and get into the penalty area, we are intense and aggressive when necessary.”
Aston Villa has won nine of its last ten Premier League games—the first time since December 1919 that the club has won nine of ten games in the top flight. For Arsenal, on the other hand, it was their first defeat since losing 1-0 to Liverpool on August 31. “We have to use this pain to move forward. That’s just the way football is,” said Arteta. “The consistency we’ve shown despite everything has been incredible.”
