Arsenal maintained their unbeaten start to the new Premier League season with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday evening. The result was a crucial one for the Gunners, given that AVFC had beaten AFC both home and away in the PL in 2023-24.
Here are our talking points from the game
Two BIG Ollie Watkins misses for Aston Villa
This could’ve been a completely different game for Villa had Ollie Watkins converted two glorious chances for them before Arsenal scored. For the first one, he shot wide after some excellent Villa pressing had forced Gabriel Magalhaes into a mistake. For the second, Watkins’ header was brilliantly saved by David Raya from point blank range.
Both the Watkins chances accounted for most of Aston Villa’s xG in this game.
Arsenal clinical with their chances- Trossard scores immediately after coming on
In comparison to Villa, the Gunners were clinical with their chances- Leandro Trossard scored almost immediately after coming on with a precise finish, and Thomas Partey’s long range effort doubled their lead.
In a game between two reasonably well matched teams, the ability to take these chances is often the difference between victory and defeat, and that’s exactly what happened for Villa.
Morgan Rogers vs Partey and Rice
There were several bright points for Villa on the evening, and one of them was Morgan Rogers, who gave Partey and Declan Rice a torrid time in midfield. Rogers’ deep, driving runs, combined with an element of physicality that saw both Rice and Partey brushed off on several occasions, would’ve been slightly worrying to see for Mikel Arteta. Rice also earned a yellow for a foul to stop Rogers towards the end of the first half.
Calafiori league debut
It’s early days, but the signs were encouraging from Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori, who made his league debut off the bench as a second-half replacement for Jurrien Timber. Dutch international Timber also gave a decent account of himself at left back (it was Timber’s first start since NFFC in 23/24 when he injured his ACL) while dealing with tricky Villa winger Leon Bailey.
What this means for the future of Zinchenko is another question though!
Partey’s legs are gone IMO; and this will only get exposed more against top tier teams. Arsenal need to sign another top class midfielder if they’re serious about challenging for the title.