EMIRATES STADIUM – While Arsenal came into this game on the back of five league fixtures without defeat, it felt too precarious to call it an unbeaten run. Having only just salvaged a point against Crystal Palace on Monday thanks to a desperate scramble deep into injury time and an improvised finish from Alexandre Lacazette, the fact that they escaped with a draw against the Eagles seemed more like a quirk than a cause for celebration.
In what is fast becoming a Jekyll-and-Hyde season, it was a performance which brought Arsenal’s hapless side back to the fore. Lacking control in the middle of the park, they allowed Palace to dictate the pace and gave away two goals to their opponents’ energetic midfield press.
While Thomas Partey and Albert Sambi Lokonga took the heat for the errors preceding those goals, Mikel Arteta opted to drop Martin Odegaard – who was ineffectual against Palace – and play them alongside each other here. He also handed Nuno Tavares his first Premier League start in place of the injured Kieran Tierney, while Lacazette was rewarded for his game-saving cameo and brought in for the ever-mercurial Nicolas Pepe.
Dean Smith took a different approach, fielding exactly the same Aston Villa side which slumped to a 3-2 defeat to Wolves last weekend. Having watched his team concede three late goals to their Midlands rivals in a morale-denting collapse, it seemed like an attempt at reverse psychology.
Unfortunately for Smith, it didn’t work. Arsenal made by far the stronger start to the game, getting a handle on the ball and creating a series of chances. Playing in an unfamiliar 4-4-2 formation, Emile Smith Rowe orchestrated things from the left side of midfield while Partey and Lokonga formed a solid platform in the middle.
Partey, in particular, looked much sharper, picking out Bukayo Saka with a line-breaking pass early on, combining nicely with those around him and, with 20 minutes gone, hitting the post after Saka returned the favour with a whipped free kick.
Partey’s stats vs Aston Villa
- 1 goal
- 75 touches
- 7 ball recoveries
- 7 duels won
- 4 touches in opposition box
Data via Squawka
Partey opened the scoring from another set piece a couple of minutes later, heading past Emi Martinez after an excellent delivery from Smith Rowe for his first Arsenal goal. With 30 minutes on the clock, Saka was put clean through by Tavares but Martinez somehow managed to sweep up the shot with his feet.
Tavares was excellent at left-back, flaming Matty Cash for pace on the overlap time and again. The midfield looked far more purposeful than it had against Palace, helped by Partey’s relentless pursuit of the ball whenever Arsenal were out of possession.
The decisive moment came just before half time, when Lacazette followed up on 45 minutes of useful scampering by nipping in front of Matt Targett in the box and drawing a foul.
While Villa initially thought they’d got away with it, Craig Pawson signalled for a VAR intervention and went to the monitor. The penalty was awarded and, after an initial save from Martinez, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored at the second time of asking. The half-time stats made grim reading for Smith, with Arsenal totting up 14 shots – with five on target – to Villa’s none.
Despite bringing on Leon Bailey and switching from a back five to a back four in the second half, there was little Smith could do to resurrect his side. While Arsenal were initially pinned back, Smith Rowe scored a solo goal on the counter-attack and, despite a late consolation for Jacob Ramsey, the hosts ambled to victory.
Having produced a performance worthy of the result, Arsenal can start thinking about putting an unbeaten run together in earnest. That’s unless Mr Hyde decides to make another appearance, of course.
