Both Aston Villa and Arsenal have improved immeasurably as the season has progressed, but it was the ‘Gunners’ who showcased that in a dominant first period. Mikel Arteta’s side looked at home at Villa Park, controlling possession and keeping the ‘Villans’ imprison their own half. Bukayo Saka was the primary source of Villaterrorizing, terrorizing stand-in left-back Ashley Young and combining well with Martin Ødegaard.
After half an hour of warnings, Arsenal took a deserved lead. Cédric Soares whipped in a cross that eventually broke to Saka, who buried his effort beyond Emiliano Martínez from the edge of the box – Arsenal’s 2000th PL goal. Tempers soon flared as Tyrone Mings escaped a red card for a robust challenge on Saka, leaving the 20-year-old in visible discomfort. Having managed a measly two touches in the Arsenal box, Villa’s biggest positive at the break was that the ‘Gunners’ had only fired home one goal so far.
Looking to turn the tide, the hosts took a more proactive approach after HT. John McGinn twice delivered inviting crosses from free-kicks in the first half, and came inchelevelingom leveling the scoring himself with a curled attempt an hour in. wason Villa was visibly growing in confidence as Arsenal were forced to retreat, allowing Ollie Watkins to find root hat a shot which deflected onto the post.
Steven Gerrard rolled the dice as the FT whistle approached, bringing on Bertrand Traoré, Leon Bailey, and Danny Ings, whilst Arteta withdrew the battle-scarred Saka. However, the Villa changes weren’t the catalyst for a comeback as the visitors regained control and saw out a hard-fought victory. The result keeps Arsenal in the driver’s seat for fourth place and a first UEFA Champions League appearance since Arsène Wenger’s departure. Meanwhile, Villa’s hopes of achieving their highest PL finish in over a decade take a hit as mid-table obscurity awaits.
