Lee Dixon criticises three Arsenal players including one who did something ‘terrible’ today

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Arsenal legend Lee Dixon has slated three Gunners players following today’s defeat to Aston Villa.

Mikel Arteta’s charges sought to make amends for their defeat to Wolves in midweek, but were guilty of numerous errors early on in the lead up to the hosts’ opener.

Bertrand Traore pounced on Cedric Soares’ poor backpass towards a hesitant Gabriel Magalhaes before teeing up Ollie Watkins for a close-range finish via Rob Holding’s deflection.

“There were a few mistakes,” Dixon said on Matchday Live on Optus Sport.

“Cedric has a terrible touch, and Gabriel has to decide is he going to get to the ball and make a tackle? If he’s not, then going to the ball is not a good thing because Traore just goes around him.

“Holding’s not tight enough to Watkins. He should have had a look around and is there anyone else in the box.

“As a defender, as the last man, he has to assess the whole situation. He doesn’t have a look around. He should know there’s no one else in the box and he can afford to get tighter.

“Yes there’s a deflection and Mat Ryan can’t do anything about it. Three or four mistakes and all with in the first two minutes of the game.”

Although Arsenal had the majority of possession, Villa created the more threatening chances from there on in, with Watkins, John McGinn and Jack Grealish all testing Mat Ryan.

The Gunners did have the odd decent opportunity, as Granit Xhaka’s free kick forced an impressive save from Emiliano Martinez.

Nicolas Pepe then shot wide when played through and also tested the former Arsenal keeper with a deflected effort.

However, the Gunners didn’t do enough to get back into the game and so they suffered a second consecutive loss in the space of a few days.

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Another poor day at the office for Arsenal, whose calamitous defending cost them an early goal and a lack of attacking prowess meant they couldn’t strike back.

The Gunners had been unbeaten in seven a week ago, but this week’s defeats have set them back, and Arteta now has a lot of work to do to get his charges back on track.