Premier League: Aston Villa bests Arsenal 2-0
Mikel Arteta might well realise that the responsibility for Arsenal’s mishap lies primarily with their own team. Having been presented with a golden chance to put forth their championship potential following an unexpected defeat of Liverpool by Crystal Palace, it was instead Aston Villa that exuberantly marked the finale following late goals by replacements Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins. This outcome dealt a crushing blow, compromising Arsenal’s hopes of concluding their twenty-year-long yearning for premier league glory.
This triumph would indeed be especially enjoyable for Unai Emery, previously sacked by Arsenal in November 2019, after only 18 months, but is now en route to drive Villa towards Champions League qualification next season, following this notable win. Gunners fans could have suffered even more had attempts from Watkins and Youri Tielemans, that hit the framework, found the net.
As in the previous season, Arsenal’s young team exhibited weakness allowing Manchester City to overtake them, fears of similar faults re-emerging at this critical juncture, are very real, following a disastrous defence that offered Bailey the initial goal five minutes from the close, followed by Watkins’ crucial 19th season goal.
Arteta had previously affirmed the team should “just focus on what we can do.” Liverpool’s unexpected loss at Anfield had undoubtedly buoyed the spirit of Arsenal fans en-route to the stadium. Spurs’ drubbing by Newcastle the previous Saturday provided Emery’s team additional motivation, facing his ex-team. Villa, captained by Watkins, certainly looked more formidable than 11 days earlier when they suffered a 4-1 defeat by City.
Arteta perhaps took a gamble due to the absence of Douglas Luiz, Villa’s core midfielder, suspended from the game. This prompted Arteta to assign Kai Havertz the central midfield position and restore Gabriel Jesus back as the central forward among three changes from the team that drew against Bayern Munich earlier in the week.
Havertz may have reaped considerable rewards if he were able to capitalise on two promising opportunities that came his way in the first quarter-hour. However, he faltered, failing to connect with a cross from Bukayo Saka and shooting directly at Emiliano Martínez after receiving a stellar pass from Leandro Trossard. The next misfire came from Jesus, who aimed wide post Saka’s assist and a later attempt from a tight angle off Martin Ødegaard’s pinpoint pass resulted in a hit to the side-netting.
Liverpool sustained a substantial setback in their title run when Eberechi Eze led Palace to victory.
Belgian forward, Trossard did Oleksandr Zinchenko a huge favour by making a pivotal move to thwart Watkins at the edge of Arsenal’s box after a rapid counter attack found Zinchenko missing in action. Not much came of Zinchenko’s daring attempt from within Villa’s half after an ill-judged goal kick by Martínez. Despite potent attempts, Arsenal’s breakthrough was warded off by Diego Carlos successfully overpowering Havertz following another energetic dash down Villa’s centre.
A stroke of good fortune was bestowed on Arsenal when Gabriel Magalhães’ errant pass hit off an unaware Zinchenko, but Watkins was out of luck when his shot recoiled off the post and was safely cleared. Martínez demonstrated impressive skill when he unbelievably swept away Trossard’s on-target shot on the goal line, set up by Jesus, wrapping up a frantic first half that saw 14 attempts from the host but no goals to show for it.
Villa, notably, had successfully irritated Arsenal for lengthy periods with their ball possession strategy, a practice they perpetuated in the second half. Jesus made a contentious penalty claim after clashing with Carlos, but could have opted for a shot instead. His claims were dismissively ignored by referee David Coote.
Arteta appeared visibly upset from the side-line as his team battled to regain their mojo after half time, causing a dissatisfaction among the home crowd. Villa’s fans, who had travelled with the team, seized an opportunity to cheer aloud when their side was awarded a corner just past sixty minutes, and a spectacular shot from Tielemans rebounded from the crossbar to the post following his successful tackle on Zinchenko near his goal.
Martínez swiftly blocked Jesus’s curled shot during a hasty Arsenal counterattack, compelling Arteta to bring on substitutes Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe. However, as the match wore on, it seemed increasingly probable that Villa would score the decisive goal. That indeed happened when Bailey nudged the ball in from the far end post following a cross from Lucas Digne—which William Saliba failed to intercept—before Watkins sealed the deal for Arsenal with a deft shot into the top angle of the goal.
– Guardian