Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta let down by four players in catastrophic Aston Villa defeat

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta let down by four players in catastrophic Aston Villa defeat

WATCH NOW: Sports round-up as Arsenal crash to catastrophic Aston Villa defeat

Jack Otway

By Jack Otway


Published: 14/04/2024

- 18:31

Updated: 14/04/2024

- 18:32

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta let down by four players in catastrophic Aston Villa defeat

Arsenal saw their hopes of winning the Premier League title dealt a substantial blow with a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday.

The Gunners had entered the clash hoping to extend their lead over Liverpool, who lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace earlier in the day.


Arsenal weren't at their best, however, with the north London giants conceding two late goals - with Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins on target for the visitors.

GB News now takes a look at four players who let Arteta down, with the title now very much Manchester City's to lose.

Kai Havertz

Arsenal Aston Villa

Arsenal slumped to a nightmare 2-0 Premier League defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday

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Kai Havertz has improved substantially, having initially struggled following his summer move from Chelsea.

But this was a poor day for the Germany international.

Prior to Bailey's goal, Havertz should have prevented the ball from being delivered into the Arsenal box.

His failure to close down Lucas Digne ended up costing his side, while Havertz also failed to pose much of a threat going forward.

However, the forward wasn't the only player who should have done better when it comes to that specific incident...

Declan Rice

aRSENAL Declan Rice

Arsenal star Declan Rice had a rare off day during his side's Premier League defeat to Aston Villa

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Declan Rice was another player Arsenal spent big on back in the summer.

The former West Ham star has brought some much-needed style and steel to the Gunners' midfield.

But Rice was poor on Sunday, with the England international failing to spot the run of Bailey prior to the deadlock being broken.

By the time he did eventually see the Villa man surging forward, it was far too late.

Rice was also guilty of playing passes too safely during the contest, too, and it was a rare off day for the former West Ham man.

Oleksandr Zinchenko

Oleksandr Zinchenko

Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko was poor during his side's defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday

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Oleksandr Zinchenko was picked at left-back as Arsenal looked to put Villa to the sword.

Yet the Ukraine international was a weak link throughout the contest and angered fans online with his flat display.

One user on X said: "I’m sorry but Zinchenko is an absolute terrible player. What is he doing man."

"If you cannot see how Zinchenko is central to everything that went wrong today then you’re an idiot. It’s so obvious. It’s so obvious," fumed a second.

And a third raged: "Zinchenko has cost us a season again."

Zinchenko drifted inside far too often, leaving Arsenak exposed, with Villa's speedy frontline causing him problems aplenty.

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Gabriel Jesus

Gabriel Jesus has his uses but his lack of cutting edge is a major, major weakness in his game.

The Brazil international missed two good opportunities and it's clear Arsenal need an upgrade come the end of the campaign.

There's talk of a move for Ivan Toney and the Brentford star would be a good recruit for Arsenal to bring in.

Jesus is a good player but not good enough to win a league title.

That's potentially why Manchester City sold him to Arsenal back in 2022.

What next for both teams?

Arsenal will need to get over this defeat, fast, due to their upcoming Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.

The Gunners drew 2-2 with Thomas Tuchel's side last week and will go into the clash at the Allianz Arena knowing the odds aren't in their favour.

As for Villa, they're now back up to fourth in the Premier League table.

They're next in action against Lille on Thursday night (7.45pm).

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