Substitute Leandro Trossard inspired Arsenal to a very vital 2-0 win over Aston Villa and earned the Gunners a massive lift following the defeats to the Villans in the Premier League last season.
The Villa Park clash was delayed from the scheduled time due to issues in communications for the match officials, and further disrupted when both Amadou Onana and Matty Cash went down needing early treatment – Cash ultimately forced off just 14 minutes in. With Villa momentarily down to ten men, Arsenal came close to taking advantage through Bukayo Saka, who curled an effort which Emiliano Martínez turned behind smartly.
It remained rather stop-start, with Villa going close to making Arsenal pay for another moment of sloppiness. Leon Bailey caught Gabriel Magalhães on the ball close to his penalty area but Ollie Watkins failed to profit, dragging a shot wide. They kept their nerve, and in the 39th minute, Declan Rice played Gabriel Martinelli into the box, who then cut this back for Kai Havertz, but the German midfielder couldn’t find his target—a golden opportunity missed to break the deadlock.
The second half picked up where the first had left off, with both teams still very cagey, until Aston Villa threatened to take the lead in the 54th minute. Onana’s shot, deflected off Gabriel, hit the top of the crossbar before David Raya’s incredible stop denied Watkins’ point-blank follow-up. The pressure still came from Villa but, against the run of play, it was Arsenal who opened the scoring. Two minutes after being introduced, Trossard coolly finished into the bottom corner as the ball rebounded into his path to earn his side a crucial advantage.
Ten minutes later, the Gunners sealed it. Saka set up Thomas Partey, who struck a first-time shot that squeezed through Martínez’s hands, doubling Arsenal’s advantage. Victory, which also meant Arsenal extended their run of unbeaten league away games to 10 matches, was also Aston Villa’s first defeat of the campaign. Now, Arsenal goes into the draw for the Champions League with confidence, having taken two Premier League wins and clean sheets this season.
