Arteta proud despite Arsenal defeat at Villa

Mikel Arteta claimed he was "proud" of his team's performance after a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa.

John McGinn scored the game's only goal in the first half as the hosts moved to within one point of second-placed Arsenal in the Premier League table.

The Gunners missed several good chances and Kai Havertz had a goal ruled out by VAR for handball.

Arteta insisted his side played well despite falling to a second league loss of the season.

The Arsenal boss told Match of the Day: "I'm really proud of the way the team played in this stadium against this team.

"We deserved to win the game but you have to be better in the boxes and things have to go your way as well.

"In the second half, we lost a bit of control, we gave the ball away, we went in to attack the ball too fast because you are tempted to put the ball in behind with the way they defend with the line but we could have done a bit better.

"They [Villa] are there and with the home record they have they fully deserve to be where they are because when you win as many games at home they deserve the credit."

Arteta also made clear his belief that Arsenal should have had a penalty for a challenge on Gabriel Jesus.

He added: "It's clear and obvious for me."

Arsenal, who host Brighton next weekend after Tuesday's Champions League tie at PSV Eindhoven, remain a point behind league leaders Liverpool.