Mikel Arteta’s anger was obvious and understandable after Arsenal once again fell short in their defeat by Aston Villa, which left nine points behind the top four.
- Arsenal’s poor form continued with a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa at Villa Park
- Mikel Arteta was understandably frustrated after the setback for his team
- His anger was on the referee Chris Kavanagh and, rightly, also on his players
At the end of a fruitless five days, Mikel Arteta’s frustration was obvious and understandable.
It was first aimed at referee Chris Kavanagh, who was faced full-time after another match in which Arsenal had grounds for the decisions.
But also, and rightly so, with his team.
Mikel Arteta’s anger was evident after Arsenal fell short again in their defeat against Aston Villa
Due to two trips to the Midlands, 23 attempts and major periods of dominance at Molineux and Villa Park yielded just six attempts on goal, one goal and zero points.
Arteta stated that both matches highlight failures that teams that want to challenge for the Champions League simply cannot display – because they are too prone to costly defensive errors and without ruthlessness in attack.
A bad combination of problems for any driver.
The coach’s anger was directed at his players and referee Chris Kavanagh after poor decisions
After their slump before Christmas, Arsenal’s unbeaten run in seven games has raised hopes that the top four may not be out of reach.
And while all is not lost – at least mathematically – damaging defeats like the last two never seem too far away with Arsenal, something they will always hold back, no matter the improvements Arteta has made.
At Wolves, they produced their best half of the season and it should have gone well.
When one slight misjudgment by David Luiz, as hard as the decision seemed, gave him a red card, the host a penalty kick and things unraveled from there.
Ollie Watkins scored the winner at Villa Park after his strike deviated just outside Mat Ryan
At Villa, the mistake came early, a confusion between Cedric Soares and Gabriel that led to the winner of Ollie Watkins.
The rest of the game was controlled by Arsenal, except of course when they were carelessly in possession and Villa offered further opportunities to score, but their former goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, was largely uninvolved.
Only three out of 14 Arsenal attempts tested him.
Just like with Wolves, Arsenal did very well, but it was short.
Arsenal controlled the rest of the game but were on the verge again when it mattered at Villa Park
First with the error before Villa’s goal and when they chased one and had to make the right final decision during their push.
They ended the match with six attacking players on the field, but Martin Odegaard summed up their fight when he ruined a present late chance.
Arteta said: ‘I’m not really interested in possession, it’s the positions we take with possession. With the numbers we set in the last third, we need to hit the target at least 10 or 12 times. ‘
If Arsenal were, there is a greater chance that the defensive vulnerability could also be overcome.
Arteta insisted that his team attack well, or at least defend well, to win their matches
Arteta added: ‘If you do not do one thing, you must do the other. If you do not do one of them, you will not win football matches. ‘
Villa is an excellent example of the value of keeping things tight at the back. Only Manchester City have more than their 11 clean kicks and as long as they remain stingy in defense, they will always have the chance to pick up points.
Martinez said: ‘I want to keep a few more (clean sheets) to help us qualify for Europe. We all dream of finishing in the top six. ‘
