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armory Owner mikel arteta Hopefully his team will bounce back after their title ambitions were dashed with a dramatic defeat Aston Villa,
Emiliano Buendia ended the Gunners’ 11-game unbeaten run in the league by scoring with the last kick of the match, before Leandro Trossard canceled out Matty Cash’s opener.
The defeat would have proved a perfect tonic for Manchester City, who face Sunderland in a 3pm kick-off and have the chance to move within two points of the Gunners, while villa Also joined the race on the basis of his victory.
The Gunners are nervous when it comes to staying in the title race due to recent history, but Arteta is hoping for a strong response.
“That’s the league, you go to Old Trafford, you go to St James’ Park, you go to Chelsea, you come here, we’ve been in a lot of tough grounds,” he said.
“The result could have been different, the reality is it’s not. We went 18 games unbeaten (in all competitions) and we’re still there, close to each other.”
“This is the level of the league, we know that. This is the opportunity we have in front of us and that’s it.
“Now it’s time to bounce back, they have given me all the right reasons to think that we are going to perform at the same level. We move forward. We will learn from today and it will make us a better team.
“It’s been five months since the competition started and so far we have competed. We have to prove that we can compete again, again and again for the next six months.
“That’s the level. People who think at the moment we’re going to be 10 points clear live in a different world.”
The Gunners suffered another blow as Arteta revealed Cristian Mosquera’s ankle injury is worse than previously feared.
“Unfortunately, he’s going to be out for a number of weeks,” the boss said. “It’s much more than we expected, so he’s going to be out for several weeks.”
villa boss unai emery They are not accepting it, but after a spectacular change in form, their team is also a contender to win the league.
They were winless in the first five matches and were in the relegation zone, but then won nine of the next 10 and are a tough match for anyone.
“I am not thinking (about the title), I know that 38 matches are going to be very difficult, we are not contenders,” the Spaniard said. “If we were in Game 35 like we are now, maybe I could have talked differently.
“The three points are giving us a lot of confidence.
“Of course, in the table now we feel better than two months ago.
“Arsenal are favorites to win this title, of course, we have to find balance, because we found balance when we were bottom.
“Now we must find a balance and try to play each match, game by game.”