Arsenal latest: Rice and Odegaard clash spotted as Viktor Gyokeres calls out problem

Arsenal's Premier League title hopes suffered a major blow on Saturday as they were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa, with Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard clashing near the end of the game

For much of the campaign, Arsenal have been firm frontrunners in the Premier League title race. However, their bid to end 22 years of hurt took a major hit on Saturday.

They were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa, undone by a painful injury-time strike from Emi Buendia. It was only their second league loss of the season and allowed Manchester City to narrow the gap at the top to just two points.

Arsenal have now dropped points in three of their last five league outings. More troubling still, they're beginning to concede goals with increasing frequency.

After shipping just four goals in their opening 16 matches in all competitions, they've now let in six in their last six. Once on track to surpass Chelsea's all-time benchmark of 15 league goals conceded in a single season, Arsenal's immediate focus has shifted to simply rediscovering consistency.

Saturday's setback against Villa was a serious stumble - but the squad must regroup quickly, particularly with a demanding Christmas schedule approaching. With that in mind, here are the latest Arsenal-related headlines.

Gyokeres raises issue

Viktor Gyokeres believes Arsenal are lacking creativity right now. Reacting to the weekend loss at Villa Park, the Swedish forward urged his team-mates to show more ingenuity in attacking areas and to take more efforts on goal if they hope to revive their title challenge.

"We have to keep creating chances and get shots on goal because then you'll eventually score more goals," Gyokeres said after the game. "If we focus on what we can control and do in our favour and focus on the next game, we'll be better, I think."

After starting Arsenal's opening 10 league games, Gyokeres has mostly featured as an impact substitute since returning from a muscle problem in November. He has six goals in 17 total appearances - a tally he may need to increase if he's to help propel Arsenal toward Premier League success.

Rice and Odegaard clash

Declan Rice was spotted shouting at Martin Odegaard after the Norwegian midfielder pulled out of a 50-50 challenge in the dying moments of stoppage time during Arsenal's defeat to Unai Emery's team. The moment happened just before the London side conceded a last-gasp winner - a goal that might have been prevented had Odegaard applied more pressure on Ian Maatsen.

Although Maatsen was surrounded by three Arsenal players, he managed to escape after Odegaard, who reached him first, seemed to hesitate instead of committing fully to the tackle. Rice reacted angrily, waving his arms and yelling at his captain soon afterward.

Odegaard also failed to atone for Buendia's decisive goal. He failed to track Boubacar Kamara's run into the area and appeared to be ball-watching during chaotic goalmouth scramble that ensued, while Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori threw themselves in front of multiple shots in a frantic effort to avert danger.

The ball eventually bounced to Buendia, who curled in the winning effort from close range with the final kick of the match. Despite Odegaard's mistakes, Mikel Arteta refused to blame any single player after the final whistle.