Birmingham, England:
By beating Arsenal on Tuesday 21st July, Aston Villa mounting out of the Premier League’s relegation zone with one match in hand to play. David Trezeguet made the winning goal in the 27th minute as Villa moved above Watford on goal difference moving out of the bottom three for the first time since February 2020. A gripping finale was played on Sunday with Villa, Watford and Bournemouth was bolted in a three-way fight against the fall.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal needs to win the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Aug. 1 to acquire place in the Europa League next season, and could finish as low as 10th place in the Premier League.
The single-goal defeat means the Arsenal can now only finish between eighth and 10th position with a final league contest to come against Watford at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
A plane towing the message “Back Arteta Kroenke Out” — a reference to Stan Kroenke, the Arsenal owner — flew above Villa Park at the start of the match and served as a reminder of the anger felt by some fans, with the Gunners facing a fourth season outside the Champions League.
Arsenal appointed former captain Mikel Arteta as their new boss in December after deciding to part ways with Unai Emery the previous month.
The Arsenal coach believes the Villa performance was the result of a full-on week for his squad but believed his players were still competing to get back in the match through the final stages.
“Congratulations to Villa because they were put under a lot of pressure and they managed to win the game,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “We were in some really good positions but we didn’t manage to deliver the ball.
“Emotionally and physically it’s been a very demanding week but I saw a team who wanted to fight until the end. I’m not disappointed about the attitude – I know where we are in certain areas and where we need to improve more. We will get that.” Added the 38 year old Spanish football coach and former Captain.