McLeish - Heartbreaking defeat

Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish labelled his side's 2-1 home defeat against Arsenal 'heartbreaking'.

Villa boss happy with 'dynamic performance'

Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish labelled his side's 2-1 home defeat against Arsenal 'heartbreaking'. Arsenal substitute Yossi Benayoun earned the visitors victory at Villa Park with an 87th-minute header. Robin van Persie had given the visitors the lead with his 34th Premier League goal of 2011, which came from the penalty spot but winger Marc Albrighton scored the 20,000th goal in the Premier League to restore parity. However, the on-loan Chelsea midfielder won the game late on as he headed in Van Persie's corner to stun Villa. McLeish was left to rue his side's luck as they slumped to another home defeat. "So late in the game to lose it. It was heartbreaking. It was a magnificent performance by our players and we gave the fans something to cheer about in their home ground against one of the elite teams. "They had a lot of corners second half and we had to withstand that second half and then something gave. It's down to individuals in the box. Players failing to pick up and sometimes that will happen to you. "We had one or two half chances but the performance levels were terrific. "I felt that we had bad luck tonight and certainly the performance level they can all look in the mirror and say that they gave everything. "I'm delighted with the performance, if not the result. And I know the Villa fans approved of that performance. It was much more like a team that I would play under my command. A dynamic performance and no holds barred."