Mikel Arteta confident Arsenal will respond to dramatic Aston Villa loss

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta expects his side to bounce back after their title ambitions stuttered with a dramatic defeat at Aston Villa.

Emiliano Buendia scored with the last kick of the match to end the Gunners’ 11-game unbeaten run in the league after Leandro Trossard had earlier cancelled out Matty Cash’s opener.

The defeat will have proved a perfect tonic for Manchester City, who were taking on Sunderland in a 3pm kick-off and had the chance to move within two points of the Gunners, while Villa also entered the race on the back of their win.

The Gunners have a nervous disposition when it comes to sticking around in title races due to recent history, but Arteta is expecting a strong response.

“That is the league, you go to Old Trafford, you go to St James’ Park, you go to Chelsea, you come here, we have been in a lot of difficult grounds,” he said.

“The result could have been different, the reality is not. We went 18 games unbeaten (in all competitions) and still we are there, close to each other.

“That is the level of the league, we know that. That is the opportunity that we have ahead of us and that’s it.

“Now it is time to bounce back, they have given me all the right reasons to think we are going to perform at the same level. We move on. We will learn from today and it will make us a better team.

“It’s five months into the competition and so far we have coped. We are going to have to prove we can cope again, again, again for another six months.

A win over the league leaders means @AVFCOfficial move up to second in the table