Aston Villa fell to a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday night, which in turn ended our 11-game winning streak in emphatic fashion.
After an encouraging performance in the first half in which we created chances in transition and largely stifled the Gunners, a nightmare start to the second half saw us concede at regular intervals.
The loss of Amadou Onana to injury certainly didn’t help, but the hosts were deserved winners as they stepped up after the break and were ruthless in punishing our mistakes.
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For Unai Emery and the Villa players, the focus now switches to Nottingham Forest at home on Saturday, as we need a positive reaction from all concerned to bounce back immediately and ensure that this is a minor blip in our pursuit of Champions League qualification.
This result may well now dampen talk of us being title contenders in terms of outside noise, but Emery will hope to take plenty from the experience and ensure that we will learn from it and continue to improve.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Arsenal:
Emiliano Martinez, 5 – Has to start commanding his area more effectively. Just as it happened at Chelsea, he was unable to claim the ball near his goal-line under pressure, and it proved to be such a pivotal moment in the game. Decent distribution and saves, little he could have done for the other goals, but that inability to dominate his box sparked the spiral in this one.
Lamare Bogarde, 5 – Difficult task for him coming into the starting line-up and being deployed at right-back. Stuck to the assignment diligently, but we were poor defensively as a collective in the second half.
Ezri Konsa, 5 – Should have had an assist in the first half had it not been for poor finishing, but much like the rest of the backline, we couldn’t cope after the break and wilted under pressure with little protection offered in midfield.
Victor Lindelof, 5 – Having highlighted it in previous games, the huge space between our two centre-halves at times finally got punished for Arsenal’s second, which was far too easy for them. Need to tighten up at the back moving forward until Pau Torres returns.
Lucas Digne, 5 – Didn’t offer a great deal going forward and was sloppy in the build-up to Arsenal’s third goal. Would come as no surprise if Ian Maatsen is restored to the starting line-up at the weekend.
Amadou Onana, 7 – His absence in the second half was such a major blow for us. Was a critical physical presence in midfield in front of the backline in the opening 45 minutes, and drove forward to provide a threat in transition too. Having been forced off with an injury, there were huge spaces for Arsenal to exploit in the second half where he would have been.
Youri Tielemans, 6 – Enjoyed spells of possession and controlling tempo for us, but it disappeared in the second half without Onana alongside him and as Arsenal stepped up their pressure with our midfield completely overrun. Played an absolutely delightful pass up the pitch which deserved a better end-product in the first half.
Jadon Sancho, 5 – Started brightly and looked like he could be a threat on the counter attack, but was dispossessed far too easily in the build-up to the second goal as things went downhill from that point onwards.
Emiliano Buendia, 5 – Couldn’t really influence the game as although he showed a good touch and pass here or there, it wasn’t sustained enough to pull the strings and threaten Arsenal’s defence.
Morgan Rogers, 5 – Threatened on occasion either as a creative presence or a more direct option, but couldn’t offer the same decisive level of quality in this one as he has done in recent games.
Ollie Watkins, 6 – Grabbed his goal late on to continue his own run of form, but was wasteful with a big chance in the first half. Battled hard in leading the line for us throughout but lacked service in the second half as we began to struggle to stay in the game.
Substitutes:
John McGinn, 5 – Didn’t have the desired influence after coming on at half time, and missed an absolute sitter in the latter stages.
Andres Garcia, 5 – Caught out in the lead up to the fourth goal with a half-hearted attempt to win a 50/50, but it would be harsh to be too critical given his lack of football this season.
Donyell Malen, 6 – Showed good intent and desire after coming on to make something happen, and that resulted in his assist for Watkins’ goal as his excellent perseverance helped carve open the Arsenal defence.
Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba, N/A
George Hemmings, N/A