While Mikel Arteta is disappointed to see our 18-match unbeaten run end at the hands of Aston Villa, he feels that it is a crucial moment for us to see how we can bounce back.
Emi Buendia snatched a point from our grasp by grabbing the winner for Villa in the 95th minute to ensure we tasted defeat for the first time since August and kept the hosts’ winning run going at our expense.
However, having seen virtually everything go well for his side over the past three months, the boss is keen to see how his players respond to this setback as the games continue to come thick and fast.
“Losing it in the manner that we did in the last kick of the game was very painful and disappointing,” he said. “We put everything into the game to try to win it. We had spells when probably we weren’t at our best, especially with the ball and we put ourselves in trouble after regaining it.
“But after we generated a certain good momentum in the second half, we scored the goal and my feeling is we're going to go and win the game. So, to lose it in the manner that we did is painful, especially for the players, because I know how much they put into it. “Credit to [Aston Villa] as well, they are a really good side and they keep you always on the edge in the manner that they play. It is a good test as well for us, we've been 18 games unbeaten, performing and winning almost every game and now we have to hit that one. Now we have to go again and every three days we have a game, so I'm sure we'll be ready.”
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The opportunity to put things right comes against Club Brugge on Wednesday night as we aim to book our place in the last-16 of the Champions League, and then is followed with a home game against Wolves back in domestic action.
Mikel admits that he wishes our next fixture was sooner so we can put the pain of this loss at Villa Park behind us, but he wants his team not too get too low or too high with any performance as we navigate the twists and turns of the season.
“We've been winning and winning and winning, we needed to stay on our feet, prepare in the best possible way for the next game and now it's exactly the same,” he added. “[The undefeated streak ending] was going to happen at some point, we didn't want it to happen today obviously, but we need to move on and go again.“If we could play tomorrow, I would be happy in terms of getting the feeling out of the defeat, but it’s time to reflect as well as a team, and to learn from it. A lot happened in the recent weeks as well to us, but the team has still performed and acted in the manner that they have done.”
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