Gerrard admits he has concerns about the future; Arteta hails Arsenal's first half v Villa
Mikel Arteta and Steven Gerrard gave contrasting post-match interviews after Arsenal beat Aston Villa 2-1 on Wednesday night.
The Gunners had a superb first half and were unlucky to be only one goal clear after 45 minutes.
Arteta believes his team's performance in the first half of their home win over Villa was "probably one of the best" he has witnessed as a manager.
"I'm really happy with the result. It's so hard to win in this league," he told BT Sport.
"The first half was probably one of the best we've played. We could have scored three, four, five. We didn't kill the game and then in this league the game is alive .
"In the second half obviously the game was a fight. They really stretch you, they play really straight, there are a lot of second balls, plays, fouls and it became a bit of a game transition where you don't finish actions when you have spaces to attack and they will come to you.
"Without really giving them anything - a corner - we conceded a goal and then it was on again. But the team once again reacted incredibly well and I think we deserved to win the game. "
Speaking to BBC Sport, Arteta added: "I was very happy, especially in the first half. We were really dominant and created chance after chance.
"The regret is that we didn't score four or five points. In this league you never get two exactly identical halves and I think we reacted very well in key moments to show character and resilience to win the game.
"It's about cohesion, understanding and chemistry. You can see the way they bond and threaten.
“The atmosphere is incredibly helpful for the team. We win games and we deserve it, but there are still a lot of things we can do better.”
Gerrard, on the other hand, is worried after Villa suffered four defeats in their first five Premier League games.
Many believe he could be the next manager to lose his job after Scott Parker was sacked, and the former Rangers boss was asked about it after his team's latest defeat.
When asked if he had any concerns about his future as Villa head coach, Gerrard replied: "Of course I do. I'm really honest and critical of myself. If I stood there and said I wasn't worried, I think you'd look at me like I was from another planet."
On the game, Gerrard added: "We worked very hard to stay in the game and to stay with Arsenal. I think technically they were a level above for 45 minutes. Because of our technical level, we kept giving the ball back.
"We improved a lot in the second half and had some really interesting breakaways. Douglas provided some magic to get us back in the game. Again we conceded two goals because we didn't understood the detail of our defense.
"Of course the goalkeeper [Emiliano Martínez] could have done a bit better for us for the second but he also kept us in the game for a large part of it. At the moment we are struggling keep the sheets clean and we need to get back to basics."
Mikel Arteta and Steven Gerrard gave contrasting post-match interviews after Arsenal beat Aston Villa 2-1 on Wednesday night.
The Gunners had a superb first half and were unlucky to be only one goal clear after 45 minutes.
Arteta believes his team's performance in the first half of their home win over Villa was "probably one of the best" he has witnessed as a manager.
"I'm really happy with the result. It's so hard to win in this league," he told BT Sport.
"The first half was probably one of the best we've played. We could have scored three, four, five. We didn't kill the game and then in this league the game is alive .
"In the second half obviously the game was a fight. They really stretch you, they play really straight, there are a lot of second balls, plays, fouls and it became a bit of a game transition where you don't finish actions when you have spaces to attack and they will come to you.
"Without really giving them anything - a corner - we conceded a goal and then it was on again. But the team once again reacted incredibly well and I think we deserved to win the game. "
Speaking to BBC Sport, Arteta added: "I was very happy, especially in the first half. We were really dominant and created chance after chance.
"The regret is that we didn't score four or five points. In this league you never get two exactly identical halves and I think we reacted very well in key moments to show character and resilience to win the game.
"It's about cohesion, understanding and chemistry. You can see the way they bond and threaten.
“The atmosphere is incredibly helpful for the team. We win games and we deserve it, but there are still a lot of things we can do better.”
Gerrard, on the other hand, is worried after Villa suffered four defeats in their first five Premier League games.
Many believe he could be the next manager to lose his job after Scott Parker was sacked, and the former Rangers boss was asked about it after his team's latest defeat.
When asked if he had any concerns about his future as Villa head coach, Gerrard replied: "Of course I do. I'm really honest and critical of myself. If I stood there and said I wasn't worried, I think you'd look at me like I was from another planet."
On the game, Gerrard added: "We worked very hard to stay in the game and to stay with Arsenal. I think technically they were a level above for 45 minutes. Because of our technical level, we kept giving the ball back.
"We improved a lot in the second half and had some really interesting breakaways. Douglas provided some magic to get us back in the game. Again we conceded two goals because we didn't understood the detail of our defense.
"Of course the goalkeeper [Emiliano Martínez] could have done a bit better for us for the second but he also kept us in the game for a large part of it. At the moment we are struggling keep the sheets clean and we need to get back to basics."
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