Mikel Arteta was frustrated with Arsenal’s defeat to Aston Villa. The reason is, he believes that the Gunners – Arsenal’s nickname – could not score a goal in the first half even though they dominated the game.
Arsenal lost 0-2 to Aston Villa in the 32nd match of the 2023/2024 Premier League. The match took place at the Emirates Stadium, Sunday (14/4/2024).
Kai Havertz opened up Arsenal’s hopes of taking the lead in the 11th minute, but his hard shot from inside the penalty box was still blocked by Aston Villa goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez. Then in the 19th minute, Bakayo Saka’s shot went wide to the left side of the visiting team’s goal.
Then, Leandro Trossard, who was not being guarded by Aston Villa players, failed to score in the 39th minute after his shot was stopped by Emiliano Martinez. Meanwhile, towards the end of the second half, Aston Villa successfully scored two goals through Leon Bailey (84′) and Ollie Watkins (87′).
The defeat to Aston Villa meant Arsenal had to drop to second place in the standings with 71 points. The reason is, Manchester City successfully took over the top of the standings with 73 points.
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta admitted that he was disappointed and frustrated with Arsenal who were unable to get a goal in the first half, even though they dominated the game. He also realized that the Gunners lost because they lowered the tempo of the game, while Aston Villa actually increased their game and were able to get two goals.
“We are really disappointed and frustrated because of the way we played in the first half and the number of chances and situations we created, how dominant we were and the final result of the match could have been very, very different,” said Mikel Arteta, quoted from Arsenal’s official website, Monday ( 4/15/2024).
“We didn’t take advantage of that and in the second half we struggled more to gain momentum. The match was more balanced, and we lowered the level of play. They increased it and we conceded very bad goals which made us lose,” he explained.
Furthermore, Mikel Arteta said Arsenal lost because they did not play at their usual level. Even though he failed to get points, he congratulated Aston Villa on their success in winning.
“We didn’t score a single goal and on top of that, we conceded two goals which is completely inconsistent with the level we have. That’s the reason why we lost this match and you also have to congratulate your opponent when you lose a match.” he concluded.
Now, Arsenal will try to get up and try to secure a place in the 2023/2024 Champions League semifinals. Martin Odegaard and friends will face Bayern Munich in the second leg of the quarter-finals which will take place at the Allianz Arena, Thursday (18/4/2024).
Arsenal only need a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich to advance to the semifinals automatically. The reason is that in the first leg, the two teams drew 2-2.
