Bukayo Saka scored the decisive goal as Arsenal maintained their perfect start to the Premier League season with a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa on Monday.
Saka’s second-half strike at Villa Park secured Arsenal’s second consecutive win and reinforced their status as early title favourites.
Mikel Arteta’s side have taken maximum points from their opening two matches without conceding a goal, sending an early warning to their title rivals.
The victory was also an ideal way for Arteta to mark his 250th league game in charge of Arsenal.
Arteta named the same starting XI that cruised to a 3-0 win over Coventry in their season opener 10 days earlier, with Saka again proving decisive after scoring in that victory.
The depth of Arteta’s squad was also on display as England centre-back Ezri Konsa came off the bench late on to make his Arsenal debut against his former club. Konsa joined Arsenal from Villa in a £51 million ($69 million) move on August 21.
Arsenal will face their first major test of the campaign on Sunday when they host London rivals Chelsea, who have also won their opening two matches.
The Gunners could also welcome another addition before Tuesday’s transfer deadline as they continue to pursue unsettled Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez.
Arteta’s only concern was a potential injury to Declan Rice, who limped off in the closing stages.
For Villa, the frustration is mounting after a second successive defeat under Unai Emery.
Villa were thrashed 4-0 by Brighton in their opening match amid an extraordinary summer of player sales.
Partly driven by the need to comply with Premier League financial regulations, Villa have dismantled much of the squad that won the Europa League last season, selling Konsa, Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Martinez, Lucas Digne and Youri Tielemans.
The overhaul has left Villa looking a shadow of the vibrant side that ended the club’s 30-year trophy drought last season, leaving Emery with a major rebuilding task.
The sense of transition was evident at Villa Park, where one end of the stadium was closed on Monday because of construction work aimed at increasing capacity.
Ruthless Arsenal
Nicolas Jackson made his Villa debut after arriving from Chelsea as Watkins’ replacement in attack, while Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, a recent signing from Parma, also made his first appearance.
Villa made the brighter start, with Emiliano Buendia rattling the crossbar with a fierce effort.
Arsenal gradually settled and began to create chances. Villa defender Pau Torres produced a superb block to prevent Christos Tzolis from tapping in Saka’s cross.
The visitors appealed unsuccessfully for a penalty late in the first half when Riccardo Calafiori went down under pressure from Torres.
Unhappy with Arsenal’s lack of attacking threat, Arteta introduced Eberechi Eze for Tzolis at half-time.
The change quickly had an impact, with Victor Lindelof making a last-ditch intervention to prevent Kai Havertz from converting Rice’s pass.
Martin Odegaard then curled a free-kick narrowly wide after VAR overturned the initial decision to award Arsenal a penalty for Ian Maatsen’s challenge on Saka, ruling that the foul had occurred just outside the area.
Villa’s reprieve was short-lived.
Arsenal finally broke the deadlock in the 59th minute after a slick attacking move. Eze released Calafiori into the Villa penalty area, and the defender’s low cross was turned in from close range by Saka.
Suzuki denied Havertz with a fine save as Arsenal searched for a second, before Konsa entered the fray for his Arsenal debut to a mixture of boos and applause from the home supporters.
With Konsa helping to contain Villa’s attack, Arsenal held on for a hard-fought victory and preserved their perfect start to the title defence.
AFP
