Arsenal traveled to Villa Park on Matchday 2 of the Premier League to face Aston Villa. This is one opponent that troubled the Gunners last season and was somehow involved in snatching the PL title away from the London team. The two teams battled it out for the second consecutive win of the season but it was the away team that came out on top, courtesy of a dominant display in the second half. Villa, who is now one of the strongest teams in the league under manager Unai Emery, was one of the hurdles that Arsenal struggled to get past. However, it was a different story this time.
With the win, the North London club is now two wins from as many games and shares full points (six) and table with the likes of Brighton and Manchester City. Let’s discover the game in detail and see how the Gunners came out victorious.
Arsenal’s Fast Start Amid Ollie Watkin’s Miss
The away team graced the Villa Park with a lot more optimism compared to the home side. They were right into the game from the first minute, dominating in possession and making attractive play. A nice one-two between Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka paved the way for the lefty to hit a low-range shot towards the goalkeeper’s post. It seemed that the shot was hit with decent power and finesse but Emilio Martinez, the Villa keeper, made a world-class save to deny the Arsenal winger his second goal of the new season.
From there on, Aston Villa came back a little in the game. Eight million pound signee and forward, Morgan Rogers started making some darting runs through the middle of the pitch. He ran past Arsenal’s Thomas Partey like a piece of cake, exhibiting great body strength, while running at such a high speed. His attacks created menace which also led to Declan Rice picking up a yellow card, to stop Rogers’s offense.
Prolific striker, Ollie Watkins missed a sitter from inside the box and in front of an empty goal. He failed to wrap his right foot around the ball as it slowly went past the right post. The first half was started strongly by the away team but it was the home team to finish it stronger.
Aston Villa’s Quick Start & Arsenal’s Late Surge
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The second half followed the opposite of what happened in the first. It was now time for Villa to create opportunities and dictate the play while Arsenal dug deep. There was a play where midfielder Amadou Onana’s deflected shot hit the post and landed straight to Watkins’s head. Moreover, he managed to head the ball on target but goalkeeper David Raya’s quick reactions saved the Gunners. He adjusted his body swiftly to put out his left arm to make the save and keep the score 0-0.
Midway through the second half, the game looked in the balance and everybody felt that it was heading for a draw. The two teams made routine substitutions where Arsenal brought Leandro Trossard in place of Martinelli. Right then, came the turning point for the. Saka’s run from the wing and low cross straight ricocheted off Onana and into the right foot of Trossard. The Belgian made no mistake as the ball found the back of the net, giving his team a crucial 1-0 lead.
Meanwhile, with 15 minutes to go, the game was not over. Aston Villa tried it’s best but it didn’t look good enough. It was towards the final few minutes of the game when Saka again on the wing cut inside and rolled the ball nicely to his teammate, Thomas Partey. The African hit a strong shot, curling into the goal, from the outside, turning out to be too strong for Martinez to stop. While the goalie looked disappointed with this effort, it gave Arsenal the much-needed lead and cemented the three points on a tough outing.
With this win, Arsenal solved the ‘Villa mystery’ as they look to march forward in the league.
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