Seaman blasts one Arsenal player for putting ‘everybody on edge’ in Aston Villa defeat

David Seaman has criticised Oleksandr Zinchenko for his performance against Aston Villa

Arsenal legend David Seaman singled out Oleksandr Zinchenko for putting “everyone on edge” in the Gunners’ 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on Sunday.

The Gunners were deservedly beaten 2-0 by Unai Emery’s men at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon as Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins scored the goals to boost Villa’s top-four hopes.

David Seaman: He got caught out a couple of times

Arsenal would have returned to the Premier League summit with a win but now sit second, two points behind reigning champions Manchester City.

Mikel Arteta was criticised for some of his selection decisions against Villa but it was a mainstay of the team who Seaman questioned on his Seaman Says podcast.

Seaman said: “Watching Zinchenko in that left back position, I know he likes to go into midfield, but sometimes he gives the ball away in really important positions.

“He got caught out a couple of times and that puts everybody on edge.”

There is no time for Mikel Arteta’s players to lick their wounds of the Villa defeat as they travel to Germany for the second leg of their finely-poised Champions League quarter-final against Bayern.

A 2-2 draw in north London last week leaves the tie on a knife-edge and Seaman is worried that defeat against Bayern Munich could lead to a longer run of bad form.

Seaman added: “It’s frustrating because we had a great chance of really pushing, but it’s just one game.

“I can’t hear anybody singing yet, so let’s move on and get on with the rest of the games. There’s a massive game against Bayern and we’ll see what happens with that.

“My only fear, and I’ve talked about it all the time, is if we don’t get the right result against Bayern the next game is against Wolves and that could be tricky.

Declan Rice: It’s the perfect game for a reaction

But Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice sees the Bayern Munich match as the “perfect game” to bounce back from their Villa disappointment, he said: “It’s the perfect game for a reaction.

“We need a reaction on Wednesday night and it is a great chance to show our character and leadership. It’s time to go out there and hopefully get into the semi-finals of the Champions League.

“We have to park this to the side now. It’s gone, it’s a game of football. We’ve lost but we need to bounce back, that’s for sure.

“Going to the Allianz Arena, it’s going to be a special night. It’s time to pull our socks up and show everyone why we’re in this position.

“We’re gutted and disappointed we’ve lost a massive game but, it’s time for a reaction. We’ve been on such an amazing run since January, won so many football matches and got ourselves back into an unbelievable position after being written off at Christmas.”