Mikel Arteta’s anger was obvious and understandable after Arsenal failed once again to defeat Aston Villa – leaving his team NINE points behind the top four
- Arsenal’s poor form continued with a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa in Villa Park
- Mikel Arteta was understandably frustrated after the setback for his team
- His anger was directed at referee Chris Kavanagh and rightly so at his players
At the end of five fruitless days, Mikel Arteta’s frustration was obvious and understandable.
It was addressed, in the first place, to referee Chris Kavanagh, confronted full time after another game in which Arsenal had reason to complain about the decisions.
But also, and rightly so, on your team as well.
Mikel Arteta’s anger became clear after Arsenal failed again in the defeat against Aston Villa
Because of two trips to the Midlands, 23 attempts and long periods of dominance in Molineux and Villa Park produced just six shots on goal, one goal and zero points.
Arteta stated that both games highlighted shortcomings that teams that want to fight for the Champions League simply cannot present – being very prone to costly defensive errors and a lack of cruelty in attack.
A bad combination of problems for any manager.
The coach’s anger was directed at his players and referee Chris Kavanagh after bad decisions
After the crash before Christmas, Arsenal’s seven-game unbeaten run raised hopes that the top four could be out of reach.
And while all is not lost – mathematically at least – damaging defeats like the last two never seem very far from Arsenal, something that will always stop them, regardless of any improvements that Arteta has made.
At Wolves, they produced their best half of the season and should be well ahead.
Then, a slight error of judgment by David Luiz, however hard the decision seemed, earned him a red card, the home team got a penalty and everything went on from there.
Ollie Watkins scored the winning goal at Villa Park after his attack was deflected shortly after Mat Ryan
In Villa, the error came early, a confusion between Cedric Soares and Gabriel that led to Ollie Watkins’ victory in the second minute.
The rest of the game was controlled by Arsenal, except, of course, when they were negligent in possession and gave Villa new opportunities to score, but his former goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was not bothered.
Only three of Arsenal’s 14 efforts have tested it.
As with Wolves, Arsenal did a lot of things well, but it fell short when it mattered.
Arsenal controlled the rest of the game, but again fell short when it mattered at Villa Park
First with the mistake before Villa’s goal and then when he was chasing one and had to make the right final decision during periods of pressure.
They ended the game with six attacking players on the field, but Martin Odegaard summed up his struggles when he opened a presentable chance for the final.
Arteta said: ‘I’m not very interested in possession, these are the positions we take with this possession. With the numbers we produce in the final third, we have to reach the goal at least 10 or 12 times. ‘
If Arsenal went, there is a greater chance that the defensive vulnerability could be hidden as well.
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 another. If you don’t do any of this, you won’t win football matches. ‘
Villages are an excellent example of the value of keeping things tight in the back. Only Manchester City have more than 11 games without conceding goals and, as long as they are mean in defense, they will always have a chance to score points.
Martinez said: ‘I want to keep a few more (games without conceding goals) to help us qualify for Europe. We all dream of finishing in the top six. ‘
