Arsenal Vs Aston Villa: 5 things we learned - The inspiring Matteo Guendouzi

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LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 22: Ainsley Maitland-Niles of Arsenal fouls Neil Taylor of Aston Villa leading to a red card and his dismissal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium on September 22, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) /

4. Rash tackles, simple mistakes

Let’s look at the six most defensive outfield players that started the match: Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, David Luiz, Sead Kolasinac, Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi. Of those six, four of them are notoriously rash in their defensive style. And the other two — Maitland-Niles and Guendouzi — do have moments of unhinged defending also.

As a defender, if you eagerly try to win the ball, you have to be sure you can get it. As soon as you fail, you vacate your position and leave the rest of the defence exposed. It is good to have aggressive defenders as a part of your team. You need a balance. To comprise almost the entirety of the defence out of eager tacklers is not a smart move, and Arsenal have consistently paid the price.

This time, it was Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ turn to make the basic error of diving in when he needn’t have. A debate can be had about whether he deserved the second yellow card, but the fact that he even went to ground to tackle in the first place, out of control as he lunged at full pace, is foolish enough to be punished with a booking. It is getting increasingly frustrating to ask, but when in the world will Arsenal learn?

Arsenal Vs Aston Villa: 5 things we learned – The inspiring Matteo Guendouzi

By Andrew Dowdeswell | Sep 22, 2019

4. Rash tackles, simple mistakes