Mikel Arteta reflected on a massive 4-1 win for **Arsenal**against Aston Villa.
The Villans are a troublesome opponent for the Premier League leaders, who lost 2-1 at Villa Park earlier in December. They presented problems in the first 20 minutes of the match, but the hosts stabilised the contest before going into high gear with four goals after the break to take the triumph.
“I'm so happy. We play every three days, we played an opponent today that comes from 11 wins in a row, a superb team, very difficult to play against and we knew that we were going to have periods throughout the game. We talked about how demanding it was going to be emotionally and we struggled in the first 10 minutes, arriving a bit late.
“They were playing through us and creating some open space situations that they are very dangerous at. Then we adjusted, got a bit more control, two big chances by Viktor Gyokeres and one scrappy situation inside the box, but we didn't manage to score. In the second half, we clicked.
“Everything went much better, timings were better and the individual duels were fulfilled in an extraordinary way, so efficient in everything that we did. Unlike the last few games where we had so many big situations, today we were very prolific and accurate to make the difference.
“[Villa] are really good, they are extremely well coached, very clear what they want to do, how they want to hurt you and they are very efficient at it. So they can drive you into a game that is constantly a very thin line, and you have to navigate it. It can be uncomfortable navigating through that and we did it in a difficult moment and then we took the opportunities in a great way.
“We talked at half-time about the things that we have to alter to be more efficient but actually after you have to. You can smell blood, but after you have to really grab it and we did it. Individually we had some huge performances, we were very efficient in the final third attacking the box.
“We were more aggressive and we were more determined. At times we were much better, and then it's about execution and just dealing - when you are man-to-man orientated - it's winning that action, yes or no, that clicks everything and makes a difference, and we were very good in the second half.
“Our behaviour had to change. The moment you allow them to attack your backline, it's a problem. They have runners from inside, they have people that pick up passes from deep positions, they have players in the last line that are excellent at making the runs, pulling shoulders and attacking your backs. You have to control that: every time you give the ball away they have the capacity to do it.
“We’re playing every two-and-a-half days, the schedule is very, very demanding, we have some very tough matches and injuries but the players are still winning, so winning helps all that.
“All the sacrifices and commitment that you put in gets reflected in results and great performances and that's so satisfying, but we know there's still so much to play for. It's a great way to end the year.”