10 December 2023 , 22:30
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Martin Odegaard had a simple message after their 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa: “We need to be more ruthless.”
Arsenal ’s skipper was among the guilty parties as a string of chances went begging as boss Mikel Arteta squirmed in the corporate seats. The Spaniard was sitting high in the Trinity Road Stand, with a TV monitor in front of him. He had a first-rate view of fourth-rate finishing.
As hard as Villa worked, they looked tired and Odegaard knew it was one that had got away. He said: “I thought we did enough to get a result from it - they didn’t create too much - apart from the goal.
"It was a bit easy, too, the goal and we were sloppy as well. We missed a few big changes - it’s an annoying and frustrating one.” Arteta was unhappy with the officiating. First, when Douglas Luiz caught Gabriel Jesus in the penalty area and then, in the dying seconds, when Kai Havertz’s scrambled effort was ruled out for handball.
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Odegaard added: “We have to focus on ourselves. We can’t think too much about the other stuff. We have to look at ourselves, look at what we could have done better, especially in front of goal where we really should have done better. Some periods of the game, we could have controlled it a bit more, too. We have to be more ruthless.”
Meanwhile, John McGinn insists Aston Villa will remain level-headed despite being touted as Premier League title contenders. Villa captain McGinn scored the winner as Unai Emery ’s side beat Arsenal 1-0 on Saturday evening to move two points off the top of the table.
The victory also extended Villa’s winning league run at home to a club-record 15 games. The fighting victory over Arsenal came just three days after reigning champions Manchester City fell by the same scoreline at Villa Park, leading plenty of voices to install Villa firmly into the title race this season.
Martin Odegaard was left frustrated as Arsenal suffered a defeat at Aston Villa“It’s a huge win but we’ve got to keep our feet on the ground,” McGinn told VillaTV. “These teams are used to being up and around there and we’re not. We need to try and manage the games as best we can going into a really busy spell.”
Former Gunners boss Emery said he had to be “clinical” with his substitutions having opted to name the same Villa starting XI in both games. The tiredness in some of his players was clear to see as Saturday’s clash progressed, but Villa held on and McGinn was keen to praise the effort of the whole squad.
“A big shout to all the boys who came on,” he added. “It’s not easy coming into a game like that. Arsenal have scored a lot of late goals this season, so we had to be switched on and really concentrate.
“The tiredness from the past two weeks started to kick in and there were some dead bodies out there – me included – but it was an absolutely monumental effort. It wasn’t pretty at times but they’re a great side. What a week.”