Fixtures
- Aston Villa Vs. Arsenal – Sat, Aug 24th 2024, 17:30
Morgan Rogers had mixed emotions after Aston Villa’s 2-0 defeat against Arsenal.
The Villans more than matched the Gunners for the majority of the Premier League encounter at Villa Park.
Unai Emery’s side missed opportunities to make the breakthrough and were duly punished in the 67th minute as Leandro Trossard swept into the bottom corner.
Thomas Partey then added a second for the visitors from the edge of the penalty area, inflicting a harsh defeat on a Villa side who deserved greater reward.
Asked how hard the result was to take given Villa’s performance, Rogers replied: “It’s difficult.
“I think for 60-65 minutes our gameplan worked perfectly. We tried to contain them, tried to stop their threats and also be a big threat and show what we’re about at the same time.
“And I think we did that, we created chances, big chances, for us to win the game.
“But that happens, it’s football, and they are where they are because they’re clinical in the final third. That’s what it came down to in the end.
“Everything else, we can be really proud of and definitely build on it going into the season.”
Speaking to VillaTV post-match, Rogers added: “We’ll go away, we’ll rest and then we’ll come back to it and probably dissect it, see where the game has maybe shifted a bit.
“We’re generally happy with the way we played, it’s just that final bit, that final finish of a chance or that final block and defending.
“And we’re there, we’re competing. They’re one of the best teams in the world and we’ve matched them.
“I think overall, if we look back at it, we’ll be generally happy with how we played.”
On a personal level, a rampaging Rogers was superb in the middle of the park and caused Arsenal all sorts of problems with his marauding runs.
The 22-year-old showed skill, strength and intelligence throughout as he impressed for Emery’s Villa.
“I want to play in these big games against the best players,” he said.
“Overall, I’m generally happy. I felt good out there, I felt fit, strong and I’m just going to try and keep building on this.
“And get better and better as the season goes on, but it’s a good start.”
