MIKEL ARTETA blasted the defensive mistakes that shattered Arsenal's title hopes.
Two blunders by Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino allowed Aston Villa to come back from a 2-0 deficit.
And Gunners title winner Paul Merson blasted Partey for his 'schoolboy mistake' that set up Ollie Watkins Villa's equaliser.
Merson furious: 'I don't know what Partey was thinking. Certain players let Arteta down.
“Thomas Partey played for one of the most disciplined teams in all of Europe at Atletico Madrid and you can't do that.
“You can't win national titles with that.”
Arteta, who saw Merino's late 'winner' ruled out by VAR for a Kai Havertz handball, admitted: “The way we defended cannot be part of our game.
“We have to blame ourselves. You can't defend like that if we want to be at the highest level in this country.
“What we did for the second goal is nowhere near the level required.”
Merson added: “Thomas sits on his man (Watkins) and then just lets him score.
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'I don't know what he's trying to do. And that's what Mikel is talking about.
“You won't see a worse defensive goal than that all weekend. They were schoolboy mistakes.
“Merino let Youri Tielemans run away for the first goal and I can't believe what I saw from Partey. I'm stunned. I'm really worried about their mentality.”
Arteta's side missed William Saliba and capitulated when Tielemans and Watkins scored, leaving Arsenal six points behind Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
It meant Arsenal have lost 12 points from gaining positions this season, their worst record since 2020/21.
Sky pundit Merson said: “I don't care what division you're in, those two goals can be stopped if you do your job.”
The studio then erupted in laughter when Merson said the referee should have given Partey a microphone to explain himself midway through the match.
Merson added: “You want to stop the Partey game when Watkins scores and tell the referee to give him a microphone and go up to him and ask, 'What were you thinking?'
“I dread to think what Jamie Carragher is going to do to him on Monday Night Football. Jamie would never have done that.”
“Jamie must have played 600 or 700 games or even more. He would never have done that in his life. Never, never. He would have said, 'Right, that's my man and I'm standing next to him'.”
Arteta said he is “very concerned” about Saliba, who will undergo a further scan on his hamstring injury today.
He added: “I'm definitely concerned. Especially with the numbers we have in the squad and when I look at our bench, very concerned.”
Watkins thought his side were lucky with the handball. He said: “Looking back, I'm not sure. It turned out to our advantage if I'm honest.
“If that had been against me, I would have been a little disappointed. But that's what VAR is for.”
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