Viktor Gyokeres admitted there was only one positive after a bitterly disappointing Arsenal defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday.
There were very few reasons to be cheerful following Arsenal’s late defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon, and Viktor Gyokeres didn’t try to deny that.
“We are of course disappointed with the result,” Gyokeres told Arsenal.com. “It’s not a great feeling right now, but it’s only December and there are a lot of games to play.
“It’s tough right now, but we’ll look forward to the next one soon.”
In what was a relatively even game, Arsenal were perhaps unlucky not to secure a point.
The two teams had the same number of shots (15), Arsenal had a few more on target (nine vs six) and Villa were only marginally ahead on expected goals (2.17 vs 1.93). A 2-2 draw would have reflected the stats pretty nicely, but that’s not how things turned out.
Gyokeres admitted that perhaps the one positive of Arsenal’s performance was that the team did at least keep creating opportunities.
“Yes, that’s of course a positive and we just need to do things in between also a bit better,” the striker said. “We have to keep creating chances and get shots on goal because then you’ll eventually score more goals.”
“It’s football. If you score in the last few seconds or minutes, that is an unbelievable feeling, so it goes both ways,” Gyokeres added. “Today, unfortunately, it was the other way. It’s tough, but you learn from it.
“If we focus on what we can control and do in our favour and focus on the next game, we’ll be better, I think.”
Arsenal will have to rally quickly ahead of another game on Wednesday, then yet another on Saturday. But on paper, the fixture list looks a little kinder this week, with matches against 26th-placed Champions League side Club Brugge and 20th-placed Premier League club Wolves.
If Arsenal can create opportunities just as effectively in those games, they should be able to pick up a couple of wins.