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Mikel Arteta's Arsenal could have ended the week in the top four of the Premier League but are instead heading into the international break as the 11th-ranked team in the division.
The Gunners have managed a couple of impressive results in recent weeks but they were completely atrocious when they welcomed Aston Villa to the Emirates on Sunday.
Having beaten Dundalk, Manchester United and Molde in the last seven days, scoring eight goals and conceding just once, Arsenal were widely tipped to build on these results.
However, the club’s inconsistency once again reared its head as they fell to a humiliating 3-0 defeat against the Villans.
Sometimes, a team can be defended when they play well and lose a game. In Arsenal’s case, however, the performance was also very bad.
Until now, Mikel Arteta has escaped criticism for some of his poor results but his honeymoon period appears to be over.
The Spaniard had a full pre-season with the team and sanctioned the signings of Thomas Partey, Gabriel Magalhaes and Willian.
While he has undoubtedly improved the team and they are now playing with a clear-cut identity, there can be no excuse for the team’s inconsistency and poor results.
Honeymoon period over for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta took full responsibility in the aftermath of the Aston Villa loss but it’s only a matter of time before he loses his goodwill with the fans, especially if results at the Emirates do not improve.
Mikel Arteta was quoted as saying:
“We performed below our standards and I have to say it's the first time I've seen us play and we weren't a team.”
"I take full responsibility. We didn't start well enough, we got away with VAR for an offside situation but we lost all the races, the duels and we were sloppy on the ball. When we created chances we didn't hit the target. It's a really bad combination. We left spaces and on the counter we looked really vulnerable.
"It is a frustration. It takes a lot to build momentum, to build a way of being, living and performing and when something like that comes up it's a hard one to take but in a hard moment you learn more than in a positive moment and I want to see how we react."
Unfortunately, the international break comes up next, and Arsenal will not have the chance to immediately make amends after such a heavy defeat.
What is clear, though, is that the Gunners faithful will not accept any inconsistency from their team. The honeymoon period is definitely over for Mikel Arteta.
