Liverpool now pull six points clear at the summit of the Premier League table after beating Brentford and the Gunners failing to defeat Aston Villa. Still, a dismayed Mikel Arteta would not single out his players for criticism at the Emirates Stadium.
“[I feel] pride at the way the boys played and competed, the third time in six days,” Arteta said live on Sky Sports. “To deliver that dominance, that performance, they were outstanding. We deserved much more, that’s clear. The way we defended, especially the second goal, can’t be part of our game.
“But altogether the word is pride because they were outstanding. The way they tried [was impressive]. There were players that were dead and performed like this for 97 minutes. They don’t look for excuses or to the bench looking for what to do.”Arsenal was two goals up via Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz before Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins turned the match around. Unai Emery once again managed to get a good result against the club he once managed.
“It was the best game we played against Villa since I’ve been here,” Arteta continued. “They’re a good side. In attack and defending, the level we’re playing is so high.”Something was missing. The line is so thin and we have to find it. Today we cannot concede the two goals we did after everything we did. That line is so thin. Credit to them as well.” On the correctly ruled out goal where Mikel Merino thought he had scored, Arteta then said: “The decision is made. It’s difficult because we have so much emotion, the celebration and it’s taken away from you. Not easy.”
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