Arsenal fans slam player after shock 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa

Arsenal fans jumped to criticise one of their own players after what could well be a costly 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa.

Unai Emery set his team up perfectly against his former side at the Emirates, with goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins in the second half giving the Champions League hopefuls a massive win.

Villa have now beaten Arsenal home and away in the Premier League this term.

The defeat follows on from Liverpool's shock loss at home to Crystal Palace earlier on and now puts Manchester City in pole position to claim a record-breaking fourth Premier League title in a row.

And Arsenal fans couldn't resist blasting one player in particular. Defender Oleksandr Zinchenko received plenty of stick for a below-par showing, with many surprised he remained on the pitch for so long.

One fumed: "And I don’t want to see fraud zinchenko starting again this season, he is f***ing s**t."

A second said: "Zinchenko is awful and I don’t get why he suddenly changed a winning formula."

A third agreed: "Never want to see Zinchenko ever on the pitch again. Start Kiwior. Start Tomi. Start an injured Timber."

Another opined: "I honestly think Zinchenko is the worst LB in the world."

A fifth added: "Zinchenko needs binning end of the season."

Image: Getty

The Ukraine international had found himself out the side in recent weeks, with Jakub Kiwior preferred at left-back.

But Arteta shuffled his pack, with Jorginho out of the side and Gabriel Jesus leading the line, and it ultimately backfired.

With six games remaining, City now have a two-point lead ahead of both Arsenal and Liverpool at the top of the table.

Arsenal return to action on Wednesday when they take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final second leg.

The tie is evenly poised at 2-2 after an entertaining first fixture at the Emirates last week.

But with City now starting to do their thing, this weekend feels like a significant development in the title race.

Topics: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Mikel Arteta, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fan Reactions

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

@joshlawless_