Mikel Arteta describes Arsenal's defeat at Aston Villa as 'painful' and 'hard to take'

"In the manner it happened at the end it is really difficult to take. You are always on the edge, especially when you don't manage the ball well when you regain it, and we didn't do that very well in the first half. In the second half we started really well. Scored a goal and we were really dominant. But then we had periods again where the same issue appeared and then we didn't have the dominance and we allowed the open spaces."

"We gave two balls away ourselves to the opponent which could have cost us the game before actually the goal. Last kick of the game we have the chance with the cross from Declan [Rice] for Noni [Madueke] and Viktor [Gyokeres]. We don't score. Goal kick long, second ball, clear the ball, individual action. The ball comes inside the box and you end up losing it. It is painful."

Arsenal suffered a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa after Emi Buendia scored with the last kick of the game. Matty Cash opened the scoring before Leandro Trossard equalised after coming on at half-time, later leaving with a suspected muscular recurrence. Mikel Arteta described the loss as painful and said Arsenal failed to manage the ball after regaining it, produced dominant spells but also allowed open spaces and gave possession away. The result allows Manchester City to move within two points if they win, while Villa recorded a seventh successive victory and rose briefly to second.

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