Forget Mings: Villa dud who lost the ball every 2.2 touches had yet another "stinker" - opinion

Aston Villa fell to to a second consecutive Premier League defeat this afternoon as Arsenal beat them 1-0 at Villa Park in the lunchtime kick-off.

Bukayo Saka’s goal on the half-hour mark was enough to separate the two sides, whilst Villa defender Tyrone Mings was on the wrong end of a controversial decision, with some suggestions that he could have been sent off for a tackle on the goalscorer.

Steven Gerrard’s side remain ninth in the league, with numerous top-flight matches postponed due to the FA Cup quarter-finals taking place this weekend.

Having won three games in a row prior to last weekend’s defeat to West Ham, the Villa manager will certainly be disappointed with the subsequent defeats, albeit against two Champions League-chasing teams.

The 41-year-old will also be disappointed with the performance of Ollie Watkins, who was off-colour at Villa Park today.

According to SofaScore, the 26-year-old had just 22 touches during his 82 minutes on the pitch, losing the ball on ten occasions at a rate of every 2.2 touches. Moreover, the only shot that he could muster ended up being blocked, whilst he also failed to complete a single dribble.

Watkins was also careless on occasion with his passing, ending the afternoon with a 57% passing accuracy as he completed just eight out of his attempted 14 passes.

With Gerrard reverting back to a 4-3-3 with the Englishman as the lone striker, there was certainly a lack of a physical presence up front, with the forward winning just one of seven attempted duels.

The 41-year-old eventually decided to make a straight swap after 82 minutes by bringing on Danny Ings, a signal that it was an afternoon to forget for the ex-Brentford marksman.

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