Mikel Arteta urges Arsenal to 'show what they are made of' after Aston Villa defeat

Arsenal 0 Aston Villa 2

ADVANTAGE MANCHESTER CITY.

Pep Guardiola’s defending champions are two points clear at the top of the table after Arsenal followed title rivals Liverpool’s loss by crumbling under the pressure of having to win to keep control at the top.

They now go to Bayern Munich for Wednesday’s Champions League second leg knowing their second defeat of 2024 could signal an end to their trophy hopes.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery masterminded a second victory of the season against the club that sacked him after only 18 months and this time it really hurt.

Arsenal were set to return to the top of the Premier League table after Liverpool’s surprise defeat earlier in the day, with reigning champions City hoping for a second miracle in the space of a few hours.

Surely Arsenal would not blow it with the sort of shock home form that wrecked their title chances last season, but they did and in spectacular fashion.

Mikel Arteta tried to remain upbeat afterwards but was visibly agitated in his post-match press conference.

He said: “We have to stand up now and show what we are made of. We won 10, drew one. Unbelievable, everybody is on board. Win, win, win win, win, - it’s easy.

“Now you show you character and your leadership and going to Munich on Wednesday night we have a beautiful opportunity to do something this club has not done for many years and qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League. It is the perfect timing for us.”

Emery’s inspired introduction of substitute Leon Bailey resulted in an 84th minute goal that rocked Arsenal so badly they conceded a second to Ollie Watkins three minutes later.

Watkins grew up an Arsenal fan, but nobody seemed to enjoy it more than former local hero Emi Martinez, the