Viktor Gyokeres said he was desperately ‘disappointed’ to lose to Aston Villa – but felt the number of chances Arsenal created in the match should be considered a ‘positive’.
The Gunners managed to drag themselves back into Saturday’s contest after Leandro Trossard struck shortly after half-time to cancel out Matty Cash’s 36th-minute effort.
But the impressive Emiliano Buendia angled the ball past David Raya in the fifth minute of stoppage time to send the Villa Park crowd into raptures and give the hosts their seventh straight win in all competitions.
The result ensured Villa moved to within three points of Premier League leaders Arsenal, with Manchester City one point better off than Unai Emery’s side in the table in second.
Arsenal, who have sat top of the pile since beating West Ham back in early October, will look to return to winning ways when they return to action at home to lowly Wolves next weekend.
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Mikel Arteta’s men have an opportunity to respond in midweek, though, when they travel to Belgium to take on Club Brugge in the Champions League.
‘We are of course disappointed with the result,’ Gyokeres, who replaced Mikel Merino at the halfway stage, said of Arsenal’s first defeat since August.
‘It’s not a great feeling right now, but it’s only December and there are a lot of games to play.
‘You can always find some positives, but it’s still a very difficult way to lose a football game.
‘It’s tough right now, but we’ll look forward to the next one soon.’
The visitors enjoyed 53 per cent of the possession at Villa Park and had nine shots on target – compared to Villa’s six – against their former goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
‘We have to keep creating chances and get shots on goal because then you’ll eventually score more goals,’ Gyokeres continued.
‘So yes, that’s of course a positive and we just need to do things in between also a bit better.
‘It’s football. If you score in the last few seconds or minutes, that is an unbelievable feeling, so it goes both ways.
‘Today, unfortunately, it was the other way. It’s tough, but you learn from it.
‘If we focus on what we can control and do in our favour and focus on the next game, we’ll be better, I think.’
Speaking shortly after the final whistle, Arsenal head coach Arteta insisted Villa should be deemed contenders in the race for the Premier League title.
‘They are,’ the Spaniard told reporters.
‘When you look at where they are, the way they play, they have beaten some big teams, especially at home.
‘Everybody is going to have to play everybody, so at the moment they are where they are and we are there as well.’
Are Aston Villa serious title challengers?
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Yes
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No
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