Knight feared for Villa
Villa defender Zat Knight admitted he feared "another Manchester United" after Arsenal's first half performance on Saturday.
But Knight revealed an inspired team talk from boss Martin O'Neill helped his side leave the Gunners hanging on at the end in the 2-1 defeat, rather than the 4-1 reverse inflicted on them by the champions last month.
"When they got their second goal, I did wonder if it was going to be Manchester United all over again," said Knight. "But we stuck at it and kept ourselves in the game.
"We had a good team talk at half-time and really took the game to them in the second-half.
"To play the way we did against a team like Arsenal, we feel we deserved something out of the game.
"We made a great start with Craig Gardner's goal and we always feel if we can get one we're strong enough defensively to shut up shop.
"But it wasn't to be on Saturday. Arsenal are a brilliant side and they scored two good goals.
"We didn't roll over though. In the second-half we were the better team.
"We made a few chances and hit the bar. It wasn't to be, but we feel a draw would have been a fairer result.
"Defensively I thought we were brilliant in the second-half. Scott Carson really didn't have any shots to save – against a team like Arsenal that's saying something!
"I thought we were good up front as well, but we just couldn't get the goal. We did everything but score and gave them a massive scare."
Knight also paid tribute to the fans who raised the roof in the second half.
"The fans were superb and I think they knew how unlucky we were to lose," he added.
"They responded all the way through the second-half and cheered us at the end. Hopefully we can get back to winning ways for them this Saturday against Portsmouth."
