In a match with not many chances, the Gunners used theirs, unlike the opponents. Mikel Arteta, this time, outsmarted his compatriot Unai Emery and took vengeance for the two losses from the previous season. The clash was resolved in the second half when Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey brought victory to Arsenal – 2-0.Aston Villa were the only team that beat Arsenal both times in the Premier League last season, and it practically cost the Gunners the title. Hence, Arteta and his boys aimed for revenge, while Emery wanted to continue the series of triumphs against his fellow countryman.Both managers relied on their strongest lineups. Arteta made only one change compared to the team that beat Wolverhampton last week – Jurrien Timber started at left-back, replacing Oleksandr Zinchenko. Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, and Gabriel Martinelli were once more Arsenal’s attacking trio. Emery picked the same lineup as a week ago, with young Morgan Rogers and the Gunners’ last season’s nightmare, Ollie Watkins, as the two players in the offence.Aston Villa displayed their Champions League trophy in the Villa Park tunnel ahead of their match vs. Arsenal 👀(📸 @AVFCOfficial) pic.twitter.com/8k6KNgHWez— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) August 24, 2024 Initially, both teams were rather cautious and focused on not making some huge mistake, mainly battling it out in the midfield, which indicated that we’d watch a “chess game” between two Spanish strategists who knew each other very well.Arsenal had the first colossal chance in the 16th minute through Saka, who aimed for the bottom right corner from inside the area, but Emiliano Martinez made a superb stop. Immediately after that situation, Emery had to make the first sub and replace the injured Matty Cash with Kosta Nedeljkovic, the youngster who debuted for the club from Birmingham a week ago, spending 15 minutes on the pitch in a victory over West Ham.Aston Villa could have taken the lead in the 25th minute after Gabriel Magalhaes’ huge mistake. Leon Bailey stole the ball and slipped it to Rogers, who found Watkins in the box, but the England international inexplicably sliced the shot wide of the post, even though he was alone near the penalty spot.Ipswich angered ‘Guardiola’s Beast’ and got thrashed!The game’s pace was good, but the teams weren’t as concrete as necessary, which resulted in only one attempt on target in the first 40 minutes. Instead, the tension was very high, especially after John McGinn and William Saliba brawled after one of the Scot’s tackles. Despite the initial expectations, Villa and Arsenal played a quite cautious and boring first half, with only two goal-scoring opportunities – one for each side. Neither team would have been satisfied with a draw, but at the same time, neither the Villans nor the Gunners wanted to risk conceding first. Additionally, this was the first goalless first half in these two rivals’ clashes since November 2012.Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal – HTA goalless but interesting first half at Villa Park.Arsenal have won four of their last six Premier League games after going in level at half-time (D1 L1), with their only defeat in that time coming at home to Villa in April.#AVLARS pic.twitter.com/GAsR3Tut4Z— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) August 24, 2024 Nine minutes after the break, Aston Villa had an extraordinary chance – definitely the best one in the match. Amadou Onana attempted from a distance, Saliba deflected it, and the shot hit the crossbar. Watkins tried to nod in the rebound, but David Raya made a superb stop and saved Arsenal’s net. Stop that David Raya. pic.twitter.com/SLRThupObv— Stop That Football (@stopthatfooty) August 24, 2024 The Gunners threatened ten minutes later when Martin Odegaard slipped the ball perfectly to Saka, but the Englishman overcomplicated things, trying to dribble the ball past Martinez instead of shooting. Minutes later, Ezri Konsa was close to scoring after a free kick. In the 65th minute, both managers reacted, making subs. Emery sent Jacob Ramsey and Jhon Duran in for McGinn and Watkins, while Arteta subbed Leandro Trossard in for Martinelli. And it took only a bit more than a minute for the Belgian to break the deadlock! Saka crossed the ball in from the right flank. The ball rebounded from Rogers straight on Trossard’s right foot, who was impeccable from inside the area – 1-0! Eleven minutes later, the Gunners made it 2-0! Once more, Saka participated in the goal-scoring action, only this time, he passed it to Thomas Partey, who unleashed an effort from around the edge of the box. However, the impression was also that Martinez could have reacted better.Minutes later, Arsenal captain Odegaard could have definitely secured his team’s triumph, but his shot from inside the area went far over the bar. Arsenal’s newcomer, Riccardo Calafiori, got the chance in the last ten minutes, when everything was resolved. The Villans tried to return to the game or at least score once until the end, but their effort was futile. Arsenal became the third team, after Man City and Brighton, with a maximum of six points, while Emery’s crew suffered their first defeat. In the next round, Arsenal host Brighton, whereas Aston Villa travel to Leicester.PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHDAY 2SaturdayBrighton – Man.Utd. 2-1 (1-0)/Welbeck 32, Pedro 90+5 – Diallo 60/Fulham – Leicester 2-1 (1-1)/Smith Rowe 18, Iwobi 70 – Faes 38/Tottenham – Everton 4-0 (2-0)/Bissouma 14, Son 25, 77, Romero 71/Crystal Palace – West Ham 0-2 (0-0)/Soucek 67, Bowen 72/Man.City – Ipswich 4-1 (3-1)/Haaland 12 pen, 15, 88, De Bruyne 14 – Szmodics 7/Southampton – Nott.Forest 0-1 (0-0)/Gibbs-White 70/Aston Villa – Arsenal 0-2 (0-0)/Trossard 67, Partey 77/Sunday 16:00: (4.70) Wolverhampton (3.70) Chelsea (1.85)16:00: (3.20) Bournemouth (3.60) Newcastle (2.30)18:30: (1.25) Liverpool (6.50) Brentford (10.0)***odds are subject to change***
