Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has told his squad to stick to the game plan no matter who they face, according to striker Ollie Watkins..
In Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Arsenal, the forward scored his fourth goal in as many Premier League games. Villa took the lead twice in the first half before being pegged back by the league leaders in the second half.
Arsenal took the lead for the first time in the game in the 94th minute. Jorginho’s shot rebounded off the crossbar and struck Emi Martinez in the back of the head, ricocheting into the net..
The Gunners then extended their lead with the game’s final kick, when Gabriel Martinelli fired into an empty net after Martinez had gone up for a late Villa corner. The result and scoreline mirror that of Villa’s defeat to Leicester two weeks ago, when they were pegged back twice in the second half.
Watkins stated after the game that Villa should have seen the game out for a point, and outlined the clear message that Emery has for his squad in order to turn their three-loss streak around..
“At 2-2 with four or five minutes left, we should see the game out and draw,” Watkins told BT Sport..
“I don’t think they’ll be able to score two goals.
“Obviously Jorginho’s goal was lucky but they had a lot of the ball in the second half and kept putting pressure on us. At the end of the day, it’s disappointing.”
“We’ve demonstrated that we can play some good football at times. “Perhaps not today, because we didn’t play well,” he added.
“There have been times when we’ve played some really good football and been patient on the ball. Whatever team you’re up against, you must stick to the game plan, which the boss has attempted to implement. We can do it; all we have to do is turn our losses into draws and then win games..
On a more personal level, the striker is ecstatic after scoring again. When Villa play Everton at Goodison Park next week, he will look to extend his goal-scoring streak..
“I’m feeling fine. “I feel confident and like I’m going to score goals now going into each game,” he said.
“Any team I come up against I feel like I’m going to have the beating of the centre halves as long as my team-mates play me the ball. I’m feeling good right now, but it’s unfortunate that we’re not winning..
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