Aston Villa vs Arsenal. Premier League.
Villa Park.
Report and free match highlights as Arsenal claim revenge for their losses to Aston Villa last season with a 2-0 win at Villa Park; Leandro Trossard scored moments after coming off the bench in the second half, with Thomas Partey adding Arsenal's second
Sunday 25 August 2024 07:23, UK
Leandro Trossard scored with his first touch after David Raya's stunning save denied Ollie Watkins as Arsenal claimed revenge for last season's losses to Aston Villa with a 2-0 win at Villa Park.
Unai Emery's team inflicted two defeats on Arsenal last season, the second of which effectively cost them the title, and they appeared to have Mikel Arteta's side on the ropes again in the second half of an absorbing encounter in the Midlands.
But after a pair of glaring misses from Watkins, who dragged wide when it looked easier to score in the first half, then saw a close-range header sensationally saved by Raya after the break, Trossard swept home Bukayo Saka's cut-back two minutes after coming on.
The goal came against the run of play but it shifted the momentum of the game and Arsenal soon doubled their lead through Thomas Partey, whose low shot from the edge of the Villa box, from another Saka pass, beat Emiliano Martinez at his near post.
Earlier, Villa had also gone close through summer signing Andre Onana, whose deflected effort bounced back off the bar in the lead-up to the Watkins header kept out by Raya, but Arsenal held firm, with William Saliba outstanding as well as Raya, notably when making a superb last-ditch tackle to help deny Jacob Ramsey.
The win ensures last season's runners-up start the new campaign with six points from six having beaten Wolves in their opener, with Emery's side unable to build on their win over West Ham.
Arsenal end the day level on points with champions Manchester City and Brighton in third place, while Villa sit 12th.
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya to Sky Sports on his wonder save from Ollie Watkins:
"Everyone is a hero here, because we work together. It's not just me, it's Leo, Thomas scoring as well. It's a crucial moment of the game, we are 0-0 and I thought we controlled the game well but they had their chances. I was there to save Ollie's header.
"What I remember, it's a shot that comes from outside the box. I'm on the floor, looking over my head, I can't reach it. But then the rebound going towards the pitch and I just see Ollie going in there and I react as quick as possible. I put my hand out, and thankfully nobody was around. It was a fantastic save.
"It's a repetition of things. Sometimes you do drills where you save one ball and get up quick to save another. It's years of doing it. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't.
"This is a difficult one. It's just a reaction one. Off the top of my end, it's one of the best alongside Diogo Jota against Brentford. I just do my best to win games."
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta in his press conference:
"I thought it was a goal. I saw the reaction of the defensive line which was none because the ball goes on the crossbar. We're all watching the ball and I went, 'No, please!' Then I see the striker in that position and normally it's a goal. David's reaction is unbelievable.
"I'm very happy. It's a really tough place to come, a great atmosphere for football, a really good team, really well coached with great collective organisation and huge individual threat.
"We found a way to win, especially because the team played with a lot of personality and understood the game better and better as it was going, apart from those 10-12 minutes in the second half.
"When we had to rely on certain individuals, we did, like the situation of David that is an unbelievable save. When we made the changes, the impact they had was tremendous.
"When the team starts to be equipped that way and starts to be able to navigate through different contexts in the match, it becomes a team that can win in every place. Today we showed that."
Leandro Trossard continues to pop up at key moments for Arsenal. The Belgian scored a string of vital goals in big games last season, including against Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Porto and Bayern Munich. Now he has another.
Thomas Partey's long-range strike for Arsenal's second goal at Villa Park ensured Trossard's opener was not their winner, per se. But it was certainly the one that changed the game. Arsenal had been on the ropes. The momentum shifted with that swing of his right boot.
First-time finishes have long been his trademark. But this, with his very first touch of the game, only moments after replacing Gabriel Martinelli, took his efficiency to another level.
It was his 18th goal for the Gunners since the start of last season and, having been named only as a substitute in Arsenal's first two games of the season, it should ensure he is in the starting line-up when they host Brighton next weekend. They might not be going into that game on the back of a win if it wasn't for him.
Mikel Arteta lauded his attitude in his press conference, saying: "When you don't get picked there are certain ways to react. Leo is upset but he's upset to show on the pitch how good he is. That's a huge quality.
"When you put him in the starting XI he does exactly the same thing. That's a big message and a big example for the rest of the team and myself. He came on and made the difference. Big credit to him."
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery on Sky Sports:
"There is satisfaction when we win, but we have to accept where we are in our process. Arsenal are more experienced, more mature, they stood strong in the last two years.
"They have been contenders for the Premier League title, and today was a test for us. We competed, we faced them, we could have won, we could have drawn, we could lose as we did in the end.
"I accept the result, and I think it's going to give us a lot of information about the team, squad and players.
"The way we played today will be a good way, understanding how we can process our ideas and style like last year, and taking the responsibility to perform like today for the next weeks and months."
