Akin Ayomide
Mikel Arteta insisted Premier League leaders Arsenal will recover from the frustration of a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa that blew the title race wide open on Saturday.
Emiliano Buendia fired Villa’s winner with the last kick of a pulsating game, ending the Gunners’ 18-match unbeaten run in all competitions in the process.
Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard had come off the bench to score a second half equaliser after Matty Cash’s first half opener at Villa park.
It was Arsenal’s first defeat since losing at Liverpool in August and only their second in the entire campaign.
The north Londoners’ rare setback moved Villa to within three points of first place, while Manchester City also had a chance to close the gap with a victory over Sunderland later on Saturday.
The Gunners have a history of collapsing after establishing strong leads in the title battle.
They have finished as runners-up for the last three seasons and haven’t been crowned champions since 2004.
But Arteta remains confident they will handle the mounting pressure.
“That is the league, you go to Old Trafford, you go to St James’ Park, you go to Chelsea, you come here, we have been in a lot of difficult grounds,” he said.
“The result could have been different, the reality is not. We went 18 games unbeaten and still we are there, close to each other.
“That is the level of the league, we know that. That is the opportunity that we have ahead of us and that’s it.
“Now it is time to bounce back, they have given me all the right reasons to think we are going to perform at the same level. We move on. We will learn from today and it will make us a better team.”
– Villa in title hunt –
Arteta knows from bitter experience how many twists and turns are still to come in the fight for Premier League supremacy.
He has no intention of letting his frustration show following a performance marred by mistakes from his injury-hit defence, which is currently without three centre-backs.
“It’s five months into the competition and so far we have coped. We are going to have to prove we can cope again, again, again for another six months,” he said.
“People who think at this moment we are going to be 10 points clear live in a different world.”
Arsenal were dealt a further blow, with Arteta revealing centre-back Cristhian Mosquera’s ankle injury is worse than first feared.
“He is going to be out for weeks, unfortunately,” he said. “It is much more than we were expecting, so he is going to be out for weeks.”
Villa boss Unai Emery has lifted his team from the depths of despair when they fell into the relegation zone at the start of the season.
Emery’s men did not win in the opening five games, but nine victories from their last 10 matches have turned them into unexpected title contenders, even if the Spaniard won’t admit it.
“I am not thinking about the title, I know 38 matches is going to be very difficult, we are not contenders,” he said.
“If we were in game 35 like we are now, maybe I could speak different.
“In the table, of course, now we are feeling better than two months ago.
“But Arsenal are favourites to win this title, of course, we must get balance, because we got balance when we were in the bottom.”