Mikel Arteta urges his players to respond ‘with character and leadership’ after shock 2-0 loss to Aston Villa threatens to derail Arsenal’s Premier League title bid

Mikel Arteta has tasked his shell-shocked Arsenal side to respond ‘with character and leadership’ after Sunday’s damaging loss to Aston Villa.

Unai Emery recorded a euphoric win against his former club to dent their title hopes and end a run of 11 Premier League matches without defeat.

Arsenal travel to Bayern Munich on Wednesday for a place in the semi-finals of the Champions League, with the score tied at 2-2 after the first leg, before visiting Wolves on Saturday where they will hope to get their title chase back on track .

‘We have the best opportunity to respond against Bayern Munich on Wednesday. The team has to show it. If you want to win you have to overcome these situations,” said Arteta, who said captain Martin Odegaard was substituted with a “leg injury”.

“With the games we had, this would happen. What matters now is how we respond. This is in our control.

The Gunners’ title hopes suffered a huge blow on Sunday after the defeat to Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium

“We knew this moment could come, it’s time to respond and believe. We must stand up, make ourselves count with leadership and character – we have no other choice. Now it is a big test for us.

“If one result (makes us lose faith) then we are not strong enough. We (Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City) all have to play every three days, it’s crazy.

‘We just have to prepare, go to Munich with a lot of confidence. It’s a great opportunity to get to the semi-finals of the Champions League, so it couldn’t come at a better time.”

Speaking about his side’s victory, Emery said: ‘We are very happy, I think they were focused. We analyzed our process as a team and we prepared this match as a very difficult match, but we had to try to get three points.

‘We were convinced in our own moments and we succeeded. But we needed a high level of commitment.”

Emery played down the personal importance of the win given his links with Arsenal, adding: ‘It’s not for me, it’s for Aston Villa. Now we have 63 points and we are closer to the top five. That’s the only thought I had before the match.

‘It was tough because Arsenal are having an incredible season. I am very proud of our work and the focus of the players, who are demanding for themselves.’

Unai Emery said the win at the Emirates felt like a huge step in the Champions League race

On his team’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, the Spaniard concluded: ‘Yes [it feels like a big step].

‘But today it was the same three points we played for last weekend against Brentford, when we were 2-0 up and drew.

‘These are the same three points we will play for next Saturday. If we are not consistent, we may lose. This is the level we want to reach.’