What Steven Gerrard said about his Aston Villa future after defeat to Arsenal

Steven Gerrard has admitted he is concerned about his Aston Villa future following his side’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal

Gabriel Martinelli hit the winner against Villa on Tuesday night (31 August) where a deserved 2-1 success means the Gunners remain top of the table with five wins from five.

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez had earlier gifted Gabriel Jesus the opener as Steven Gerrard’s side slipped to a fourth defeat, heaping the pressure on the former England captain. The visitors had briefly levelled courtesy of substitute Douglas Luiz scoring direct from a corner but Martinelli’s winner came just three minutes later.

Villa have now lost four of their opening five league games this season, and the pressure is mounting on Gerrard.

Follwing the match, the former Liverpool skipper admitted he is concerned about his future. Villa have lost four of their first five fixtures and the former England captain was bullish when asked if he had concerns over his future.

“Of course I do,” he said.

“I am being honest and critical of myself. I will do my job the best I can do. I will step forward and take responsibility as best I can.

“But if I stood here and said I wasn’t concerned you’d look at me as if I was from a different planet. We showed character and commitment and we were hanging on at times but if we keep getting important moments in key areas we will continue to concede goals.

“We speak about this most days and it’s really frustrating that the messages don’t seem to be getting through.”

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