Mikel Arteta admitted his envy at Liverpool's greater strength in depth after Arsenal lost ground in the Premier League title race with a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa.

That Mikel Merino's goal was ruled out late on for a Kai Havertz handball rubbed salt in the wounds but Mikel Arteta's mask finally slipped post-match as the Arsenal boss conceded that keeping pace with Liverpool was simply proving too difficult for the threadbare Gunners.

Arsenal are almost guaranteed a spot in the Champions League round of 16 and a bye from the play-offs but Mikel Arteta joked he was still struggling with the permutations