Aston Villa – Arsenal: Saka Scores the Winner for the Gunners

It seemed like ages since we last played, and even though I don’t like us playing last, I understand that we might need to cherish these 10 days between games. Once the season gets properly underway, the fixtures will come thick and fast, and we might find ourselves wishing we had a period like this to rest.

Even though it was known that both Konsa and Guimarães had travelled with the team, Mikel decided to go with the same starting XI that started against Coventry.

We started brightly but didn’t create much in terms of opportunities, and the closer we got to half-time, the more laboured the game became. Villa were cautious, perhaps remembering the hammering they took at Brighton last week, and after surviving the opening 20 minutes, they gradually grew into the game, believing they could get that one moment to hurt us on the counter.

Arsenal were patient and calmly dealt with everything Villa had to offer. The only moment the home side could have scored in the first half came after the referee completely ignored a foul on Tzolis, with Buendía hitting the bar shortly afterwards. Even Gary Neville was surprised, which speaks volumes.

I can’t say we had much joy going forward ourselves either. Tzolis was having a difficult time against Cash, whilst the Ødegaard–Saka–White trio on the right wing wasn’t working as well as we would have liked. It was clear that something had to change, and Eze came on in place of Tzolis at half-time.

I’ve always had my reservations about Eze playing on the wing, but today he proved me wrong, and hopefully he can maintain this level of performance throughout the season. He was just as good going forward as he was at helping Calafiori defensively.

It was no surprise that the left wing was instrumental in yet another Arsenal goal this season. Mosquera played a smart pass - and not an easy one, by the way - to Calafiori, who crossed the ball for Saka to put it into the net.

After that, the game became a task of seeing it out without any drama, whilst Villa seemed to step things up and create some trouble for us, which we dealt with expertly. That was made possible thanks to the quality of the substitutions we had the luxury of making. Mosquera felt something in his muscle and was replaced by Konsa, who helped Gabriel deal with Abraham.

In midfield, Miles made way for Bruno, which only added to Villa’s headaches as his movement and passing posed even more of a threat going forward.

Guimarães was doing a great job defensively too, celebrating every successful tackle, but his real “welcome to Arsenal” moment came in injury time. Where those eight minutes came from, I have no idea. He was brought down from behind in the Villa box by Maatsen, only for VAR to overturn the decision seconds later.

The only concern I have after the game is whether Rice is okay and how bad Mosquera’s injury is. This Sunday, we face a Chelsea side that looks much improved, and we’ll need everyone to be fit.