By Aston Villa FC

Dean Smith faced the media after Aston Villa climbed out of the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory against Arsenal in the Premier League on Tuesday night.

 

The boss discussed his side’s performance, their fighting spirit and escaping the bottom three for the first time since February.

 

Here’s what he had to say…

 

On beating Arsenal…

 

“It was a great performance but an even better result because the result was what we needed against a good team who’ve just beaten two of the best teams in Europe.

 

“We knew we had to show a lot of courage, heart and work-rate, and I thought it was a real team performance today.

 

“We kept them at bay for long periods and I can’t really remember Pepe Reina having to make saves. We defended the box well and he came to claim crosses when he needed to.”

 

On team spirit…

 

“We’d love to have supporters here today and getting us over the line, but you could hear enough of the subs and non-playing staff on the sideline to get us over the line.

 

“I felt our shape was good and we were restricting them. I thought we got up to the ball really well and made them go backwards at times.”

 

On keeping a clean sheet…

 

“We’ve been much better over the nine games [since lockdown], defensively.

 

“The players were really engaged in the video coaching sessions we did, and they came back wanting to be a better team defensively.

 

“I think we have been. With the likes of Jack, John McGinn coming back, I feel we look good going forward as well.”

 

On moving out of the bottom three…

 

“Our biggest win was probably Everton, our first win in the Premier League. But this is the biggest win now because we needed it.

 

“We’ve got to go and do the same sort of performance against West Ham on Sunday. It’s a huge boost, that’s for sure.

 

“We needed to get that win to catch Watford up, and now we have, we’ve got the season in our own hands. That’s all you can ask for.”

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