Arsenal's body language has come under scrutiny after their defeat to Aston Villa and the Gunners could benefit from taking notice of a Pep Guardiola rant from last term

Arsenal's title hopes suffered a big blow with their surprise defeat to Aston Villa at the Emirates last weekend.

The Gunners found themselves displaced from top spot after goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins ensured Manchester City's win over Luton put them in the driving seat. Pep Guardiola's side have a two-point advantage over Arsenal and Liverpool heading into the final six matches of the season.

It is the second season in succession that the north London side have manoeuvred their way into Premier League contention. Last term saw Arsenal falter as City once again set a relentless pace on the way to the title.

With City finding themselves in first place for the first for the first time since November, the pressure has ramped up on Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp's sides. Frustration could already be filtering into the Arsenal camp.

Watkins: "We could see from their body language that they were getting tired and definitely getting frustrated and I think we used that as momentum and motivation really."

Much has been made of Arsenal's inexperience in earning league success in comparison to Manchester City. Guardiola has previously seen his side risk falling into a similar pitfall however.

Following a Carabao Cup defeat to Southampton last term, Guardiola unleashed a scything rant in the dressing room. The former Barcelona boss had some simple advice.

Arsenal surrendered top spot after defeat against Aston Villa ( Image:

"My team is not like that. We'll be in trouble. We'll be in trouble. I don't accept that [wagging his finger]. Sport, life is body language. How you approach life, how you approach the game. This is body language, and when you make a bad pass and the other complains like this [turning away] you can start bad but you have 80 minutes left to play, how do you react?

"'Ah they scored a goal, ah a second one, oh it's here, it's there'. You want to play? You want the ball? You wanna move? You wanna fight? As a brother? Down to the earth, everyone guys. Work harder, work better. Be humble, be ambitious. Otherwise, the academy is ready."

Indeed, Mikel Arteta will be hoping that his side doesn't show frustration on the pitch as they attempt to get their title bid back on track. The Gunners face Wolves on Saturday night, while Liverpool travel to Fulham on Sunday and City face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday.