Gunners thrive under pressure, says Mertesacker

Per Mertesacker has admitted that Arsenal “felt the pressure” of their loss against Manchester City during their 2-1 victory over Aston Villa.

The Gunners allowed Marc Albrighton to equalise – the 20,000th goal in the Premier League’s history – in the second half, and did not secure three points until late on when substitute Yossi Benayoun struck.

Mertesacker said rather than sapping their confidence, the loss to City had inspired them to keep fighting against Villa.

“We felt the pressure because of the bad game against Man City, but we have now won away from home again,” Mertesacker told the club’s official website.

“We were under pressure but we found a good solution with the first goal.”

“We created some good chances but not as much as we thought at the beginning as Villa were always quick. Gabriel Agbonlahor was in some good situations (to score) but defensively we did a good job.”

“Villa are a confident side. We thought, because of their bad run, that they were struggling, but I didn’t feel that.”

The result brings the Gunners level with Chelsea on 32 points on the table, though the Blues have a game in hand, which they will play at Tottenham on Thursday.