Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal: Highlights, man of the match, stats as Saka seals three points

Arsenal secured a constrictive 1-0 triumph implicit Aston Villa successful a hard-fought clash astatine Villa Park connected Monday night.

The archetypal fractional was a cagey matter successful which neither broadside genuinely demonstrated overmuch existent prime going forward, with Emiliano Buendia's long-range effort, which clipped the apical of the crossbar, the lone effort of note.

Arsenal made a brighter commencement to the 2nd fractional and thought they had won a punishment earlier VAR corrected the determination to a free-kick, but the Gunners took the pb conscionable minutes aboriginal erstwhile Bukayo Saka bundled location from adjacent range.

The Gunners continued to dictate the tempo for overmuch of the remainder of the lucifer and yet strolled to the 1-0 victory, with the Villans finishing the crippled without registering a changeable connected target.

SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT

Arsenal were surely fixed a tougher test, and expectedly so, than their opening fixture against Coventry City. 

Aston Villa made it overmuch much hard for Arsenal to interruption them down, and the Gunners often looked void of immoderate existent creativity, with galore of their attacks often breaking down owed to a deficiency of prime oregon miscommunication. 

At the different end, however, it was vintage Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta's broadside denying Aston Villa immoderate existent attacking joy, highlighted by the Villans creating conscionable 0.31 expected goals (xG) and failing to muster a azygous changeable connected target.

While it was not the benignant of lucifer that volition spell down successful Arsenal folklore, fans volition beryllium pleased to cognize their broadside are inactive susceptible of grinding retired the benignant of results that led them to the Premier League rubric past season.

ASTON VILLA VS. ARSENAL HIGHLIGHTS

Bukayo Saka extremity vs. Aston Villa (59th min, Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal)

Saka gives Arsenal the lead!

Cristhian Mosquera picks retired a superb walk betwixt the lines to Eberechi Eze, who plays it done to Riccardo Calafiori. 

Calafiori slides and knocks the shot into the mediate of the six-yard box, and Saka is determination to bundle into the backmost of the nett from adjacent range.

MAN OF THE MATCH - BUKAYO SAKA

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In a crippled that was often lacking existent prime successful the last third, Saka delivered the decisive infinitesimal of the match, and that is capable to marque him our antheral of the match. 

The Arsenal defenders besides merit credit, producing different ascendant show astatine the backmost to contradict Aston Villa immoderate occurrence going forward. 

ASTON VILLA VS. ARSENAL MATCH STATS

Possession: Aston Villa 39%-61% Arsenal

Shots: Aston Villa 7-7 Arsenal

Shots connected target: Aston Villa 0-2 Arsenal

Corners: Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal

Fouls: Aston Villa 17-6 Arsenal

BEST STATS

WHAT NEXT?

Aston Villa volition question to the MKM Stadium to instrumentality connected newly-promoted Hull City connected Saturday evening. 

Meanwhile, Arsenal volition instrumentality connected London rivals Chelsea astatine the Emirates Stadium connected Sunday afternoon.