Mikel Arteta said the manner of Arsenal’s defeat at Aston Villa was “really difficult to take” after a last-kick winner from Emi Buendia ended their 18-game unbeaten run and cut their lead at the top of the table.
Arsenal appeared to have rescued a valuable point after Leandro Trossard’s second-half equaliser cancelled out Matty Cash’s opening goal, but Buendia struck with the final kick of the match after a prolonged scramble in the penalty area.
The defeat came with Arsenal missing William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Cristhian Mosquera, while several attackers were only just returning from injury. Despite that, Arteta believed his side had enough control after the interval to avoid defeat, before a series of late lapses proved decisive.
“In the manner that it happened at the end, it was really difficult to take,” Arteta told TNT Sports afterward. “In the first half, we had moments, although obviously they had the best chance. I think it’s a foul on Ricky that Watkins goes through.
“After that, we started to control the game and had some good situations. You are always on the edge, especially when you don’t manage the ball well when you regain it and we didn’t do that very well in the first half.”
Arteta said his team took hold after the break but failed to maintain control at key moments. “In the second half, we started really well, scored the goal, we were very dominant. But then we had periods that again the same issue appeared. And then we didn’t have the dominance, and we allowed certain open spaces. We gave two balls away ourselves to the opponent that could have cost us the game before the goal.”
Arsenal had a late chance to claim the win themselves before Villa’s winner. “And then [before] the last kick of the game, we had the chance with Declan to put the ball across for Noni and Viktor. We don’t score.
“Then, goal kick long, second ball, clear the ball, individual action, a lot of chaos inside the box, and you end up losing it. So, it is painful.”
On why neither side established sustained control in the second half, Arteta pointed to the nature of the contest. “I think it’s the manner that we play, the quality that is on the pitch. The moment somebody beats his own man in a duel, the space is open. And they are really good at that, for what they do, they are a really good side.
“We had our moments to go and score the second goal. We were very, very close a few times. And at the end, I said, after 18 games unbeaten, which is a long run, you need to lift up and go again.”
Arsenal’s lead at the top was set to increase before Buendia’s goal, but Arteta rejected the idea that they had let a major opportunity slip. “Yes, but every week is going to be like this. We are 18 games unbeaten and still the margin is so small. So, this is what we have to do. We have to focus on ourselves and set standards that today, particularly individually, we didn’t raise that level. But the effort was absolutely there. Use that pain to go again. That’s football.”
Despite the setback, Arteta said there was no reason to believe his side’s consistency would disappear after one defeat. “The consistency levels that we’ve showed with everything that happened to us has been incredible. I have no arguments to think otherwise.”
Arsenal now turn their attention to a Champions League trip to Club Brugge before returning to league action at home to Wolves.