Mikel Arteta’s anger was evident and understandable after Arsenal escaped again in the defeat by Aston Villa – leaving his team NINE points adrift in the top four
- Arsenal’s poor form continued with a 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa at Villa Park
- Mikel Arteta was a disappointment, however
- His anger was directed at referee Chris Kavanagh and, rightly, at his players.
At the end of five unsuccessful days, Mikel Arteta’s frustration was obvious and understandable.
He first targeted referee Chris Kavanagh, who was facing full-time after another game in which Arsenal had reason to complain about the decisions.
But also, rightly, to his team.
Mikel Arteta’s anger was clear after Arsenal escaped defeat again against Aston Villa
Because of two trips to the Midlands, 23 attempts and long periods of dominance at Molineux and Villa Park produced only six efforts in the target, one goal and zero points.
Arteta said that both games have highlighted the failures that teams that want to cause for the Champions League simply can not display – being too prone to costly defensive errors and ruthless in attack.
A bad combination of problems for any manager.
The coach of Chris Kavanagh was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up
After the undefeated fall of Arsenal, before Christmas, the hope grew that the first four might not quote to be out of reach.
And while all is not lost yet – at least mathematically – harmful defeats, such as the last two, never seem too far away from Arsenal, which will always hold them back, no matter what improvements they have made. Arteta.
At the Wolves they produced the best half of the season and it should have been long before.
Then, a slight misjudgment on the part of David Luiz, no matter how harsh the decision seemed, brought a red card, a penalty to the hosts and things got out of hand.
Ollie Watkins scored the winner at Villa Park after his strike deflected just beyond Mat Ryan
At Villa, the mistake came early, a confusion between Cedric Soares and Gabriel leading to the winner of the second minute of Ollie Watkins.
The rest of the game was controlled by Arsenal, except, of course, when they were careless in possession and gave Villa other opportunities to score, but his former goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was largely uneasy.
Only three of 14 Arsenal efforts have tested him.
As with the Wolves, Arsenal did a lot of good things, but came up short when it mattered.
Arsenal controlled the rest of the game, but came back short when it mattered at Villa Park
First with the mistake before Villa’s goal and then when they chased one and had to make the right final decision during their pressure spells.
They ended the game with six attacking players on the field, but Martin Odegaard summed up his fights when he threw a presentable late chance.
Arteta said: “I am not really interested in possession, it is the positions we take with that possession. With the numbers we produce in the last third, we have to reach the target at least 10 or 12 times. ‘
If Arsenal were, there is a better chance that the defensive vulnerability will be covered.
Arteta insisted that his team must attack well, or at least defend well, to win their matches
Arteta added: “If you don’t do one thing, you have to do the other. If you don’t do any of these, you won’t win football matches. ‘
The villa is a prime example of the value of keeping things tight in the back. Only Manchester City have more than 11 clean sheets and as long as they remain stingy in defense, they will always have the chance to earn points.
Martinez said: “I want to keep a few (clean sheets) to help us qualify for Europe. We all dream of finishing in the top six. ‘
