Arsenal crashed to a second successive Premier League defeat as Ollie Watkins’ early goal fired Aston Villa to a 1-0 win on Mat Ryan’s debut for the Gunners.
Manchester United were stunned in the 95th minute by the latest of Everton equalizers, while nine-man Newcastle beat Southampton 3-2.
And a referee howler from veteran whistleblower Mike Dean left fans – and even rival players – stunned as West Ham saw out a goalless draw at Fulham.
Mikel Arteta’s side fell behind after just 74 seconds at Villa Park in a horror debut for Australian gloveman Mat Ryan, and were unable to muster a convincing response.
Arsenal lost at Wolves on Tuesday and have now gone three league games without a victory.
The Gunners are languishing in 10th place, nine points adrift of the top four as their faint hopes of Champions League qualification look less realistic by the day.
When Arsenal faced Villa in November, they suffered a lacklustre 3-0 defeat that sent them sliding towards the relegation zone.
Although Arsenal had managed to claw their way back up the table, eighth-placed Villa once again showed the flaws that still plague Arteta’s men.
Wanted it so badly to be the perfect start with a win and clean sheet, gutted it didn’t eventuate. Proud moment today, but already focused on our next objective(s). Thank you all for the wishes for my debut and the warm welcome. @Arsenal pic.twitter.com/ue4H2QAPVA
— Maty Ryan (@MatyRyan) February 6, 2021
Arsenal, badly lacking a cutting edge, have scored just once in their last three matches and retain a fatal inability to stay focused at the back.
Villa took the lead with their earliest Premier League goal since 2014, aided by some woeful defending from the Gunners.
Arsenal’s Cedric Soares gave the ball away and Bertrand Traore crossed to the unmarked Watkins, whose shot went in via a deflection off Rob Holding.
It left Australian keeper Mat Ryan absolutely helpless, as he became just the fourth keeper to concede inside two minutes in their full Premier League debut.
Despite the horror start, there was plenty of praise for Ryan, who made some fine saves to deny Watkins in the second stanza, and finished with seven saves in total.
“Besides the start, I thought we were right in it, we were competing, we were just a little slower out of the blocks than they were and we got punished for it,” Ryan told Optus Sport.
And while he was happy to make his first appearance for the club he supported as growing up, he was evidently disappointed with the outcome. He said: “On first reflection, I think there were plenty of positives for me and I loved being out there. It still hasn’t sunk in that it’s my childhood club that I supported and I just played for them. I think as it sinks in, post-game and I reflect it will be nice. But I wanted the perfect start with the result.”
Bemoaning Arsenal’s lack of killer instinct, Arteta said: “In the Premier League when you give a goal to the opponent – and we gave them another three opportunities to be fair, just giving them to them – and then you are not ruthless in the opponent’s box, you don’t win games.
Bemoaning Arsenal’s lack of killer instinct, Arteta said: “In the Premier League when you give a goal to the opponent – and we gave them another three opportunities to be fair, just giving them to them – and then you are not ruthless in the opponent’s box, you don’t win games.”
Source:foxsports.com.au
