’The way they behaved’: Mikel Arteta expresses ’surprise’ at Aston Villa following win for Arsenal.
Sunday morning will find Aston Villa hating themselves after losing 2-0 to Arsenal just a day before. Knowing they might inflict early misery on the Premier League title contenders, Unai Emery’s team entered the encounter having defeated Arsenal in back-to-back games the previous season.
But before Mikel Arteta’s team finally punished their opponents in the second half, Ollie Watkins had an astonishing game for Villa, squandering two guilt-edge scoring opportunities.
It was a real kick in the teeth because, despite the calibre of players on display, the game was generally sloppy, lethargic, and had very few opportunities generated.
Many anticipated that since the season is young, the match would be faster and more aggressive, possibly even going end-to-end. However, Arteta pointed out that it wasn’t entirely the case and that Aston Villa’s strategies—particularly their defensive ones—had some influence.
Despite starting at right-back with Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne, and others, Matty Cash was injured in the first half of the match.
Even though Diego Carlos was substituted in for Cash—the player was Man of the Match both at home and away against Arsenal in the previous season—Emergy decided against moving Konsa to right back.
Villa’s defensive “behaviour,” according to Arteta, startled him and took some time for his team to adjust and respond. The manager of Arsenal implied that he didn’t want the game to be a little slow, which was the reason it was a bit slow.
Whatever the case, Arteta told Sky Sports Premier League about Villa Park’s challenges, the team, and how they are “very well taught.”
Aston Villa’s tactics against Arsenal
When asked if Arsenal was in control of the game, Arteta answered, “Yes, we did.” “In particular, we were taken aback by Villa’s initial strategy. “Their actions, particularly their defensiveness.
It’s okay though; you still need to create the game. The pace got too slow, so we had to crank it up a notch. We don’t want to play that game, yet you seem fine with it. We took two or three very good chances.
After Watkins’ large first-half lead, David (Raya) altered the course of the match. After David’s stop altered the course of the match, we had a strong dynamic that allowed us to score the goal and take control of the contest.
“Well, they weren’t exactly the same as they had been, particularly at home. That’s all, though. We must adjust. It looks like we will be playing a lot of those kinds of games. Our attacking midfielders also displayed a very particular attitude from the holding midfielder.
We must look elsewhere, and as soon as we figured out the game, we started to create more and more issues. Well done, guys. They have excellent coaching and are a fantastic team. It’s also an extremely challenging environment to succeed.
Morgan Rogers performance
Villa must learn from their mistakes and focus on the game’s positives, such as Morgan Rogers’ performance against Arsenal. He created absolute mayhem for a very powerful Arsenal midfield and didn’t deserve to be on the losing side.
The offensive midfielder, who joined Villa from Middlesbrough in January, has performed admirably and is currently among the first names on the team sheet. Rogers was Villa’s finest player on the pitch, even in the loss, and he will eventually be called up to the national team.
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