Aston Villa 'need to focus on keeping where they are'

Aston Villa's defeat by Arsenal is "not the be-all and end-all of their season", says former England striker Ellen White.

Unai Emery's side, who had equalled a club-record 11 consecutive wins in all competitions prior to Tuesday's game, had their run brutally ended when the Gunners comprehensively beat them 4-1 at Emirates Stadium.

Nevertheless, Villa still remain well-placed in third in the Premier League table at the midway point of the campaign.

"Unai Emery alluded to it a little bit in his press conference when he was saying that they want to enjoy the moment. They don't want to think about the title and just enjoy each game," White told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.

"The fact that they have nearly broken a record for their most consecutive wins means I don't think this is a game they need to really focus on too much.

"Yes, it would have been absolutely amazing [to beat Arsenal] and it would have kept them even more in the conversation, but I think they need to focus on keeping in where they are in the Champions League spots, doing well in Europe as well.

"That's what they need to concentrate on. Yes, they obviously need to analyse this [defeat] but this isn't the be-all and end-all of their season now and their chances of European football for next season as well."

Ex-Villa forward Dion Dublin added: "I think this might be a silver lining. It might be they think: 'Hold on a minute, that's where we need to be so what do we need to do in order to get there?'"

Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds

This is your Villa page.

Select 'Follow' at the top to get club news on your BBC Sport homepage and, if on the app, tap the bell icon to get notifications sent directly to your device.