Paul Lambert aims to "lift" Aston Villa team ahead of Arsenal test

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has vowed to "lift" his players ahead of this weekend's Premier League battle against Arsenal.

The Midlands outfit were crushed 5-0 by Manchester City and have dropped into the relegation zone in the league table.

"You have to bounce back," Lambert told the club's official website. "Too many people come to watch you. We will come back next week stronger. They'll be fine, they always have been. I'll just lift them again and they will bounce back.

"The bottom three is not where you want to be, nobody wants to be there, but you have to bounce back and keep going. There's a long way to go. These lads are giving us everything they've got."

Arsenal will head into the contest on the back of a 5-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.