Ten man Arsenal came from behind to take all three points against Villa at the emirates
Arsenal XI: Leno, Maitland-Niles, Luiz, Sokratis, Kolasinac, Xhaka (72), Guendouzi, Ceballos (72), Pepe, Aubameyang, Saka (45).
Subs: Ozil, Martinez, Chambers (45), Torreira (72), Nelson, Willock (72), Martinelli
In a thrilling match that displayed everything amazing and terrible about the game of football, 10-men Arsenal come from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-2 in a memorable Premier League fixture that will be remembered for years to come.
The free-flowing nature of the match against Eintracht Frankfurt seemed to carry over to the Emirates as both Arsenal and Aston Villa wasted no time getting after each other's defenses. Aston Villa looked like a team that waited all week just to get a piece of the North London club, as they surely took an interest in the Arsenal performance that allowed 31 shots to a terrible Watford side.
John McGinn’s shot from outside the box just under the 5-minute mark didn’t trouble Bernd Leno, but it definitely isn’t what the Arsenal fans in the Emirates Stadium wanted to see as they were still getting settled into their seats.
Arsenal settled down just after 10 minutes and looked like they were on the cusp of scoring, but just couldn’t find any end product to a multitude of attacking moves.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles picks up a quick yellow card in the 11th minute, putting an already under pressure Arsenal defense under further pressure.
A deflected Nicolas Pepe shot that Kolasinac headed across goal found Aubameyang but the golden boot winner just couldn’t shuffle it out from under his feet and it squirted out for a goal kick.
A few moments later Nicolas Pepe showed why fans have been incredibly excited about the arrival of the former Lille man, while also holding a bit of concern in the back of their mind. A quick hesitation move allowed Pepe to blow past his man but his shot was deflected and it looped over the goal. The Ivorian will be in Neil Taylor’s nightmares for a good while after what he had to endure today.
It seemed like Arsenal had all of the momentum when John McGinn slotted a curling cross past Bernd Leno in the 20th minute. His second goal in North London already in this young season so far. McGinn slips past Matteo Guendouzi and in-between David Luiz and Sokratis for a textbook finish, leaving Arsenal defenders flatfooted and stunned.
Arsenal did a decent job of responding to Villa’s goal, as Saka’s right-footed shot just skimmed over the crossbar a few moments after the 25-minute mark.
It was almost a mirror image from his goal earlier this week, as the young Hale End product continued to seamlessly dovetail into the front three as his movement, vision, and bravery continued to stand out. Taking on Premier League fullbacks with no hesitation, and not just with pace but throwing his body as well. An absolutely fearless week of football from Saka.
Granit Xhaka picked up a yellow card around midfield in what was an almost identical sort of tackle as the one he placed in Arsenal’s own box against Brighton last spring. Grabbing Jack Grealish’s shoulder as he romped through the midfield, putting the Swiss midfielder under the microscope for the remainder of the game.
At the 38 minute mark, Ainsley Maitland-Niles goes to ground for a 50/50 ball that saw the young Englishman take out Neil Taylor which would be his second yellow and would end the afternoon for our patchwork right back. Arsenal go down to 10 men.
Sokratis goes down and is holding his face a few minutes before the halftime whistle as an apparent bust-up between him and Aston Villa’s Wesley Moraes turns out to be our Greek defender trying to goad the referee into giving Aston Villa a card.
A card is brandished just moments later in the 44th minute as Matteo Guendouzi picked up a needless yellow card. The first half ends with Arsenal down a man, down a goal, both defensive midfielders on yellow cards, and with the North London faithful directing an array of boos and whistles toward John Moss as he walked into the tunnel.
Saka is substituted for Calum Chambers at halftime to shore up the back.
Granit Xhaka is almost booked a second time just minutes into the second half as the physicality and engines of McGinn and Grealish continued to provide problems for the Arsenal midfield that looks like they are struggling to just stay afloat.
Arsenal still had attacking moments even with a disadvantage, as the pace of Aubameyang and Pepe on the wings proved to still be a dangerous threat.
That quality and pace kept Aston Villa off balance, and in the 59th minute, it allowed a bursting Matteo Guendouzi to get chopped down by Aston Villas Trezeguet. A quick VAR check confirmed what everyone already knew. Penalty to Arsenal.
Nicolas Pepe stepped up to the spot, and channeled his inner Aubameyang and placed it directly down the middle, officially opening his Arsenal scoring account.
Post a Comment