'We're very short' – Arteta bemoans sub options compared to Liverpool

Mikel Arteta bemoaned his options from the bench as Arsenal threw away a 2-0 lead against Aston Villa hours after super-sub Darwin Nunez had rescued title rivals Liverpool.

The Reds were able to call on substitutes Nunez, Andrew Robertson, Federico Chiesa, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott as their domination and fresh legs eventually wore down Brentford to secure a 2-0 injury-time victory in west London.

After Aston Villa had wiped out Arsenal’s lead by the same scoreline, leaving them in danger of slipping six points off the league leaders, Arteta made just one change from his own bench, bringing on Raheem Sterling for Gabriel Martinelli with eight minutes left – a change which ultimately failed to provide victory.

The Gunners – not helped by missing key players at both ends of the pitch – failed in their attempts to sign an out-and-out striker in the summer, leaving Arteta to concede he did not feel he had the same options as his rivals to change a game from the bench as his players battled the physical exertion of a third game in six days.

Arsenal have dropped 12 points from winning positions in the Premier League, their most in a single campaign in five years and already three more than last season, while against Villa their other substitutes consisted of three academy players, three left-backs and deep-lying midfielder Jorginho.

“There are moments, and obviously they (Liverpool) managed to do that (win),” Arteta said. “They made the subs, and the subs made the impact and changed the game.

“On our side it was the opposite, even after conceding the two goals very close to each other. The danger was that I knew half the team could go downhill because we were physically drained.”

“I am incredibly proud of this team. It was an immense performance. But I am very disappointed because defending the way we did for the second goal cannot be a part of our game if we want to be at the highest level in this country. It was nowhere near the standard required.”

Will Arsenal add to their ranks in January?

Arteta appeared to suggest they needed reinforcements in the January transfer window to support the level of performance he felt they showed against Villa, where midfielder Thomas Partey filled in at right-back owing to their defensive shortage.

The Gunners are closing in on a deal to sign Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, though the Spain midfielder will remain at Real Sociedad for the rest of this season.

Arsenal have been linked with a January move for Benjamin Sesko, their primary striker target last summer – though the Slovenian’s agent has suggested he will remain at RB Leipzig during this window.

Sky Sports understands the club are working hard to recruit a forward by the end of the month but are reluctant to pay the inflated fees which can come with the winter window.

Asked whether the club will have to move in the transfer market this month, he replied: “When you look at the performances, I don’t know how many teams are playing at this level in the league. But when you look at the bench, you would probably say we are very short.”

On the absence of William Saliba, who missed the Villa game with what the club called a “minor issue”, Arteta added: “On Sunday we’ll have more information, but am I worried? Yes, for sure, especially with the numbers that we have in the squad, and looking at our bench.”

Arsenal’s injury list – Saliba adds to Arteta’s concerns

The Gunners are currently without:

• William Saliba
• Bukayo Saka
• Gabriel Jesus
• Ethan Nwaneri
• Riccardo Calafiori
• Ben White
• Takehiro Tomiyasu

Are Arsenal’s title hopes over?

Sky Sports’ Nick Wright at the Emirates Stadium:

It remains to be seen how costly this could be for Arsenal but the deflated mood inside the Emirates Stadium told a tale. So did the dejection of the home players as they made their way off the pitch.

Arsenal still have 16 games left to play, of course. But Liverpool have 17 and they are already six points clear. It is a huge gap, as it stands, and the worry is that will only get wider.

The Gunners only lost nine points from winning positions last season, the second-lowest total in the Premier League. But their collapse against Villa means their total for the current campaign already stands at 12.

It is a worrying statistic for a side which has developed a reputation for defensive resilience under Mikel Arteta and there are issues in attack too, where chances continue to be spurned.

There may be twists still to come in this race but Arsenal, depleted by injuries, with Saliba now added to the absentee list, are giving off the air of a side struggling to keep up.

Arteta has no complaints over handball call

Kai Havertz briefly looked to have won the game in the 88th minute only to see his strike disallowed by VAR after he was adjudged to have turned in Mikel Merino’s shot with his arm.

Arteta initially said he had not seen enough angles of the narrow call, but later conceded it appeared to be the correct decision to deny his side a late victory.

“Yes, I have seen it,” he told BBC Sport. “From one angle it doesn’t look [handball] and from another angle it does look handball.

“The decision is done. We had many other chances that we could have put away without that goal.”