Viktor Gyokeres has said the manner in which Arsenal lost to Aston Villa was difficult to take.

The Gunners managed to drag themselves back into Saturday’s contest after Leandro Trossard struck shortly after half-time to cancel out Matty Cash’s 36th-minute effort.

But the impressive Emiliano Buendia angled the ball past David Raya in the fifth minute of stoppage time to send the Villa Park crowd into raptures and give the hosts their seventh straight win in all competitions.

The result ensured Villa moved to within three points of Premier League leaders Arsenal, with Manchester City one point better off than Unai Emery’s side in the table in second.

“We are of course disappointed with the result,” Gyokeres, who replaced Mikel Merino at the halfway stage, said of Arsenal’s first defeat since August.

Arsenal, who have sat top of the pile since beating West Ham back in early October, will look to return to winning ways when they return to action at home to lowly Wolves next weekend.

“It’s not a great feeling right now, but it’s only December and there are a lot of games to play.

“You can always find some positives, but it’s still a very difficult way to lose a football game.

“It’s tough right now, but we’ll look forward to the next one soon.”