Mat Ryan debut a rare positive as back-to-back defeats leave Arsenal needing a pick-me-up

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After this defeat to Aston Villa, Arsenal will be glad to see the back of the Midlands.

Two games in five days in this part of England have led to two losses and now Mikel Arteta must pick his side up.

They have eight days until their next game - which in this jam-packed season feels like a luxury break - when they welcome Leeds to Emirates Stadium on Valentine’s Day.

Arteta will hope that match is not as frustrating as this meeting with Villa, which was decided by Ollie Watkins' goal inside the opening 90 seconds.

It came about via sloppy play from Arsenal as Cedric Soares, who has been one of the team’s better players recently, left a pass to Gabriel Magalhaes horribly short.

Bertrand Traore nicked in to steal the ball and crossed for Watkins, whose deflected strike trickled past a helpless Mat Ryan.

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From there, Arsenal tried to get back into the game and they had plenty of possession. Indeed, they finished the game with 66 per cent of it and 14 shots on goal, but the Gunners couldn’t make it count.

There were few positives to take, but as the dust settles Ryan’s performance on debut is something for Arteta to cling on to.

The Australian, who signed on loan from Brighton last month, only returned to training on Thursday but he got himself fit in time to start.

When he conceded inside just 90 seconds - without even touching the ball - you wondered how the Australian would react and you feared for the worst.

Ryan, however, bounced back and pulled off a number of good saves to keep the score at 1-0.

As a boyhood Arsenal fan, who used to get up in the dead of night back in Australia as a child to watch the Gunners, Ryan will have been pleased with his display.

Sadly, the result wasn’t one for him to remember fondly.

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Arsenal full-backs struggle on off-day

Over the past few weeks, there have been fewer big plus points for Arsenal than the form of Cedric. The Portuguese full-back has been one of the team’s better players, but both he and Hector Bellerin struggled against Aston Villa.

Arsenal’s style of play has become reliant on the full-backs getting forward and creating chances. They didn’t have that at Villa Park and the consequences were clear to see.

Bellerin, in particular, struggled with his final ball. The Spaniard has had plenty of injury problems recently and it feels like the toll of them is making an impact. The zip and pace from his game - certainly going forward - just isn’t there right now.

Martinez makes it back-to-back wins and clean sheets against Arsenal

Arsenal saw last season how talented Emi Martinez is, as the goalkeeper helped guided them to FA Cup glory. This campaign they have been reminded of that, but in much more painful fashion.

Since joining Villa, Martinez has played twice against Arsenal. Both times he has been on the winning side and both times he has kept a clean sheet. Against his former side today, the Argentina international didn’t have too much to do, but what he did have to contend with he did so with ease.

His one contentious moment was a tussle with Alexandre Lacazette in the box, however the referee adjudged the Frenchman was fouling him. A sign, perhaps, that this was always going to be Martinez’s day.

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