Unai Emery speaks out on Arsenal VAR drama as he makes 'difficult' Aston Villa admission
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery was proud of his side's display of character after battling back from two goals behind to secure a point against Arsenal.
Arsenal went 2-0 up in the 55th minute as Kai Havertz doubled the lead following Gabriel Martinelli's opener in the first half. Youri Tielemans headed in Lucas Digne's cross on the hour mark before then striking the post just moments later.
It was Ollie Watkins who scored the equaliser for Villa, turning in Matty Cash's cross. The draw puts Villa just two points behind fourth-placed Newcastle United after they lost 4-1 to Bournemouth at home earlier today.
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"We showed resilience and mentality," Emery said. "How we reacted was fantastic on the field. This is the process we have. We have experiences and competing against the better teams like last year and two years ago.
"Today was a very good test against Arsenal, a favourite and contender to be with Liverpool to win the Premier League. Also a favourite to get far in the Champions League. We did a really fantastic job.
"We are in a process and this point is very important in how we achieved it. I was thinking maybe we could get another goal to win and this is the mentality I want. The last actions, with VAR and Trossard’s chances, it was a difficult moment for us."
There was late drama in the match as Mikel Merino thought he had scored a late winner for the hosts. But VAR overturned his goal because the ball deflected in off Kai Havertz's arm.
"I always respect VAR," Emery said when asked about the drama. "Three weeks ago I didn’t watch the clear penalty [we didn’t get] at Nottingham Forest. I respected VAR. After the match, I watched it and it was as a penalty. The same is today. Respect VAR. I watched it [Merino] and it touched his hand."
