Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard admits being concerned about his future as manager after his side fell to a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates. Former Manchester City star Gabriel Jesus scored the opening goal after the Gunners dominated for large parts in the first half. However, Douglas Luiz equalised for Villa – only for the home side to swiftly respond through Gabriel Martinelli. The result becomes Gerrard’s third consecutive defeat, and fourth so far this season. Their only win came in a 2-1 home triumph to Everton. Analysing his side’s performance,
Steven Gerrard said: “We worked ever so hard to stay in the game and stay with Arsenal. I think technically they were a level above for 45 minutes. Because of our technical level we kept giving the ball back. We improved a lot second half and had some really interesting breakaways. Douglas provides a bit of magic to get us back in the game. Again we concede two goals because we didn’t get the detail of our defending right. Of course the keeper [Emiliano Martínez] could have done a bit better for us for the second one but he kept us in the game for large parts of it as well. At the moment we are struggling to keep clean sheets and we need to get back to basics.”
Asked about whether he has any concerns about his future as manager,
Steven Gerrard added: “Of course I do. I am really honest and critical of myself. If I stood here and said I wasn’t concerned I think you’d look at me as though I was from a different planet.”
Captain John McGinn has insisted Aston Villa’s poor recent form has “nothing to do with the manager” following their 2-1 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates. The result sees Steven Gerrard’s side drop to 19th place in the league, with just one win in five games. Speaking post-match, Scottish midfielder McGinn believes mistakes being made “over and over again” led to Villa getting “punished” in North London. Asked why Villa couldn’t hold onto a point,
JohnMcGinn said: “A bit of naivety. We were standoffish in the first half. Douglas [Luiz] scored a great goal and we were right back in it and then we make the same mistakes over and over again and we were punished. It is about us as players taking responsibility and being more streetwise. We need to start getting results and we are all aware of it, it would be a bigger problem if the effort wasn’t there. There were a lot more bodies on the line but we seem to be weak when we score a goal. It is something we have addressed after the game and something we need to improve if we are to take the club where we want to. If you don’t perform you get criticism and you can either go into your shell and worry or you can puff your chest out and try to do something about it. It is not going to turn overnight. It has nothing to do with the manager. Players are put out to do jobs and if we don’t perform those jobs it is our responsibility. Arsenal were in a similar position last season and stuck with it and got it right.”
