Mikel Arteta concedes that Arsenal were deservedly beaten by Manchester City - but insists the loss has only made his players hungrier for Premier League glory.
The Gunners lost 3-1 at home to their title rivals on Wednesday night as City's experience in high-pressure scenarios shone through at Emirates Stadium. Kevin De Bruyne capitalised on Takehiro Tomiyasu's error to open the scoring before Bukayo Saka equalised from the penalty spot just before half-time.
Arsenal had nearly two-thirds of possession in the match but Jack Grealish inflicted a hammer blow by restoring City's lead and Erling Haaland secured three points in the closing stages. The result extended the north Londoners' winless run to four games in all competitions as City - who have played one game more - leapfrogged them in the table.
Arteta reflected on his side's performance on Thursday, ahead of their trip to Aston Villa. In his pre-match press conference on Friday, the Spaniard admitted that the better team won at the Emirates, saying: "You have to give credit to a team when they beat you but, for sure, when you analyse the game again, I think that we lost it."
The Arsenal manager explained that watching the loss to City back with his players provided him with "more clarity". When asked if it had made the squad more motivated to get back to winning ways, he simply declared: "Yes, I think so."
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The Gunners are in the midst of a quick turnaround, having kicked off against City at 7:30pm in midweek before travelling to Villa for Saturday's lunchtime game. Arteta is refusing to be daunted by the hectic fixture schedule, insisting his players will operate with "full energy" at Villa Park.
"No worry, we have to play," Arteta replied when asked if he was worried about Arsenal's workload. "I want the players to be in the best possible mindset and physically ready to get that challenge going. The Gunners boss added: "They are young! They have a lot of energy."
Arteta also stated that he expects to face a compact Villa set-up but outlined his confidence that Arsenal can find a way through Unai Emery's side. "16 low blocks we have faced this season," he said. "We have won a lot of those games. We have merited at the end to win most of those games.
"Then, it's about efficiency. When they block everything and the ball doesn't go in the net, it's great [for them]. If you win 2-0, then you attacked the low block really well.
"[There will] always be assessment there, there are always things we have to improve and our efficiency in the box hasn't been as good as when we were winning football matches. Tomorrow, it will have to be really high to beat them."
