Arsenal face their demons
On a sunny afternoon at Villa Park, the home of Aston Villa since 1897, two managers with Arsenal links, one holding the reins now and the other a part of their recent past, faced off. Mikel Arteta, a feverish presence on the bylines, had a few ghosts to nail, while Unai Emery, mostly stoic and with his oiled hair swept back, had to press home a point. Arteta probably had a bigger grouse, as it was Villa that had probably tripped up their title chase in the last season.
Arsenal like they started against Wolves in the season opener stuck to 4-3-3 formation; Villa mirrored that formation at their end. The game never got into a rhythm in the first half. The game started late as VAR ran into technical glitches. As the teams jostled for space and kept their shape, more stoppages came up. A few injuries held up the game, and among them Matty Cash aggravated an injury he was carrying, forcing Villa into an early substitution.
It was a game that went to and fro before the break as Arsenal dominated possession and Villa counterattacked. In a half of very little action, the most important one was one Emery would rue at the end of it all. Gabriel was robbed on top of the box, and Watkins, with Raya at his mercy, shot wide. Bukayo Saka produced a typical dart and shot from the left flank, only to be denied by brilliant save from Emiliano Martinez. Raya also brought off a brilliant goal line save as Watkins fluffed again with Raya down and out. The teams walked off at the break without any goals scored.
Gunners take control
After the break, Arsenal came off the blocks. While Villa did have a few attacks, Arsenal’s movement and passing went up a few gears as they swarmed the Villa half. Gabriel Martinelli was pulled out to be replaced by Leonardo Trossard. The Belgian, who has almost made an art of turning games around, did what he does best. Bukayo Saka wrestled briefly with the defender, went through, and cut back from the backline. The ball boobed into the box of a few bumps, and the Trossard pounced on it to send it past a diving Martinez.
The man who moved had scored. Trossard had anticipated the ball and ran while the Villa men in the box stood out of shape and rooted to the spot.
Arteta pumped his fist on the technical area, happy for that lead. He would have been happy enough to take the slim lead to the end.
But then, Trossard wasn’t done yet. He ran behind the tiring defense line and crossed into the box. The cross went right through a sea of bodies to reach Saka at the other end. Saka held the ball, looked around, and slid the ball to Thomas Partey lurking at the top of the box. Partey made no mistake as he pinged it into the right corner.
David Raya was easily the star for Arsenal, Saka as always the tormentor and Odegaard the lynchpin.
The ghosts of the past had been exorcised. The nemesis that Aston Villa had proved to be, was vanquished.
Victory, they say, is sweet when it comes after a few tribulations.
Mikel Arteta and his team have made a statement, and it couldn’t have been any better than this one in bright Birmingham sunshine.
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