‘I’m emotional, I care, I don’t like getting beat’

Steven Gerrard questioned the belief of his Aston Villa players after the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday.

Villa were thoroughly outplayed by the Gunners in the first-half and Bukayo Saka’s 30th-minute strike gave the visitors a deserved lead.

The home side gave Mikel Arteta’s men a sterner test after the break, but an emotional Gerrard insists the damage was already done.

He told BT Sport: “It was a tough first half because we allowed it to be tough.

“I think we were indecisive in the things we tried to do. I think our performance lacked belief. It wasn’t until after half-time that we showed we can be better.

“We deserved to be behind in the first half. We were second best. We set up to be aggressive but lacked belief in what we were doing.

“I thought certain individuals lacked belief. It’s hard to execute a game plan if not everyone believes in what you are doing.

“We were less indecisive in the second half and off the back of that created four interesting moments. The performance was a lot more positive.”

Villa remain ninth after a second-consecutive defeat and Gerrard has urged his men to bridge the gap to the teams above them by showing more confidence.

He added: “The league doesn’t lie. Certain teams are ahead of us at the moment and there’s a reason for that.

“We’ve got to grab it off them, believe in what we’re doing and get support from up above.

“I’m emotional, I care, I don’t like getting beat.”