Aston Villa boss Dean Smith admits he hit out at his players after their dismal 3-1 beating at the hands of a resurgent Arsenal at the Emirates. The boss named an unchanged line-up in north London and, within seconds, they were dominated by Mikel Arteta’s side before Thomas Partey opened the scoring with a free header after 23 minutes.
Dean Smith said: “We were unrecognisable and we deserved what we got. We were dominated physically. I had to change it at half-time. That first half was unlike us. I fancied us in the second half had it been just a goal but 2-0 was too hard to get. We knew Arsenal would start strong. I would say it was systems and personnel but we just didn’t play well. We got dominated and didn’t win enough second balls. I’ve just questioned the players in there.”
Smith was then asked about Lacazette’s contentious penalty decision with Aubameyang allowed to tap home the rebound after Emi Martinez saved – despite referee Craig Pawson already blowing up for half-time.
Deans Smith asked: “Why is he allowed to put rebound in. If (Pawson) wasn’t called over by VAR… either he scores or he misses which he did. There seems to be a grey area over that. I’m concerned at the moment because we’ve conceded four goals from set pieces over the last two games. I’m concerned by the first half performance today. We were good enough for 80 mins against Wolves to win that game. We’ll put it right. Leon Bailey needed them 45 minutes, we’ve got Bertrand Traore coming back so we’ve got players coming back. We’re disappointed and frustrated. I can’t deny we were second best tonight.”
