Mikel Arteta says Arsenal will quickly recover from their painful 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa, a loss that has tightened the Premier League title race.
Arsenal’s 18-match unbeaten run came to an end after Emiliano Buendia scored a last-second winner at Villa Park. Matty Cash had put Villa ahead in the first half before Leandro Trossard equalised after coming off the bench.
It was Arsenal’s first defeat since August and only their second of the season. The result brought Villa to within three points of the league leaders, while Manchester City also had an opportunity to close the gap later in the day.
Arsenal have a reputation for dropping off in title races, finishing second in each of the last three seasons and not winning the league since 2004.
But Arteta believes his players will respond positively.
“That’s the Premier League,” he said. “We’ve been to tough grounds all season. We went 18 games unbeaten and we’re still right up there.
“Now it’s time to bounce back. The team has given me every reason to believe we’ll perform again at the same level. We’ll learn from this and become better.”
