Well, how typical is that of Arsenal? We beat the two top teams in the League and then go and lose to a side fighting relegation. Plus ca change….
The Gunners have won just three away games from their last 18 games on the road, and it was little surprise they lacked any spark after our last two scintillating wins this week, even though we dominated most of the game.
Despite Arsenal having 70% of the possession, the only shot that even came close to the Villa goal was when it hit the post. No wonder Mikel Arteta was a bit deflated after the game.
“I am really disappointed with the result,” Arteta told Arsenal.com. “I cannot fault the effort of the players, for sure.
“You could see how they were going every time we lost the ball, how aggressive we were, Villa couldn’t put three or four passes together. It was a very different game to the last two.
“We completely dominated, we played in the opponents’ half but we missed that spark and the ball in the final third to create more. We knew about Villa’s set-pieces, we conceded another goal there and it cost us the points.
“The boys are really disappointed. They wanted to keep building momentum. It’s been a really demanding week emotionally and physically for them, and I know how much they wanted to win today again to give us a chance to qualify for Europe from the Premier League. But we’re going to try in the final.”
The FA cup really is the last pitch of the dice for Arsenal. We sit in 10th place in the table, below the mighty Burnley and promoted Sheffield United. I know we are all a bit down in the dumps today, but we can give all our stars a day off against Watford, and get our batteries recharged for the big game against Chelsea.
This is football. Anything can happen!