Arsenal: 4 talking points from huge 3-1 win over Aston Villa

Arsenal made Monday night’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace feel like a distant memory as a superb display against Aston Villa saw Mikel Arteta’s side run out 3-1 winners.

Friday night kick-offs have the potential to be tarnish entire weekends or set them off to a jubilant start, and fortunately it was the latter on this occasion as the Gunners produced one of their best 90 minutes under Arteta.

An electric first half started as it finished with Alexandre Lacazette pulling the strings in the hole. Connecting all the attacks with some lovely one-touch play that got the midfielders involved and saw Villa’s wing-backs pushed back into their own half, Arsenal dominated.

Thomas Partey came within a whisker of opening his account as he smacked the post, although he wasn’t to be denied moments later as he shouldered one in from a corner that Emi Martinez couldn’t keep out.

Arsenal: 4 talking points from huge 3-1 Premier win over Aston Villa as Thomas Partey nets his first goal for Mikel Arteta’s side on Friday night

Arsenal pummeled the visitors’ with efforts aplenty yet couldn’t find a crucial second goal until referee Craig Pawson was advised to check the VAR monitor in the dying seconds. Matt Targett’s foul on Lacazette handed the hosts a crucial stoppage time penalty.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw his spot-kick saved but the rebound fell kindly to him as he rifled the ball home to secure what was a vital, and deserved, 2-0 lead.

Villa unsurprisingly changed their shape after the break and as they pushed for a route back into the game, Emile Smith Rowe started and finished a swift counter attack to put Arsenal firmly in the driving seat.

There would sadly be no clean sheet for Aaron Ramsdale and the back four as Jacob Ramsey’s incredible finish from outside the box reduced the lead to two goals, one that Arsenal held on to.

What a win. What a performance. What an improvement. And plenty to talk about.

1. The Importance of Arsenal Scoring Just Before Half-Time

Arsenal were faultless in the first half. You’d have to be a real cynic to pick holes in what may go down as the best 45 minutes seen under Arteta.

The downside? It was only one goal.

Bukayo Saka should have done better having been found by Nuno Tavares’ superb ball across. His finish was rushed as Martinez had already gone to ground, with his outstretched leg preventing the goal. Partey also struck the woodwork in a half where Arsenal recorded 14 shots and an xG of 2.45, while Villa’s sat at 0. That number being the result of them not having a single shot.

It was near enough perfect. But this is the same side that looked good value for their solitary goal lead against Palace only to retreat into their shells and invite pressure on. Would it happen again?

There will be some contention over the penalty award. While it’s soft, Targett went through Lacazette clumsily. It’s a penalty.

Aubameyang mopped up at the second attempt and for a team that showed mental fragility in their previous outing, to have grabbed the two goal advantage felt like a gigantic turning point. While we’ll never know how pivotal that goal may have proved, we can assume based on history that it was just that.

Speaking of penalties…

Continued…

2. Emi Martinez Narrative Gets its Glorious End

There is no real malice towards Emi Martinez. He was at Arsenal for ten years, got his chance when injury struck and performed magnificently in Leno’s stead. Had he have stayed it would have solved a host of issues for the club and he’d have been loved.

He didn’t, the offer came in, Arsenal sold, and it looked like a foolish decision.

Since joining Villa he’s chosen every waking opportunity to name drop Arsenal even when his former club have no relevance to what’s being discussed, and it’s seen plenty of the fanbase turn on him.

Being the brilliant goalkeeper he is, and to be the salty supporters that so of us many are, watching him be on the receiving end of a hammering and be subject to all the chants from the Arsenal supporters felt like the fitting end to a tedious narrative. Arsenal sold him, it looked bad, so, please, just move on.

Now everyone can (with no hard feelings to him) as Aaron Ramsdale has arisen as the chosen one. He is adored by the fans, absolutely exceptional with the ball at his feet and risen to the task to become one of the most promising young goalkeepers around.

Banishing all concerns and criticisms of his signing to the history books, then piling them up and setting fire to them, he is an Arsenal No. 1 that not a soul in north London isn’t infatuated with.

What a guy. What a brilliant young keeper. No more mentions of Martinez ever again.

Continued…

3. Nuno Tavares Puts in Superb Display in Tierney’s Stead

The biggest compliment that you can pay Nuno Tavares was that – it sounds strange to even say it – Kieran Tierney wasn’t missed on Friday.

Out with a bruised ankle, the left-back came in and made his full Premier League debut and was industrious to the extreme with a surprisingly brilliant performance. Everyone has seen his talent and his flaws during his outings for the club so far, so to see nothing but positives in what was a huge night for the team and for him is credit to his mentality.

He kept Matty Cash pinned back for large stretches of the game, winning the ball back high and bursting down the left with aggression and technical craft in equal measure. He never stopped.

Such a relenting engine was matched with clever positioning as he combined with Smith Rowe in the final third as comfortably as he covered his tracks defensively.

With Tierney having started the season in uncharacteristically poor fashion, the calls have already emerged for the Scot to be displaced. These are calls that should remain inside the four walls they might have come from. The Scot will come back into the team when fit.

What Tavares’ display does show, however, is that there is comfort to take in the understudy that losing a key player like Tierney is no longer an occurrence to shriek in fear from. They will push each other, which is what healthy competition is.

A really encouraging display.

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4. Thomas Partey Finally Scores His First Goal For Arsenal

At the 4,136th attempt, Thomas Partey has scored his first goal for Arsenal Football Club. It’s finally happened.

It felt like it had already arrived in the first half when his lanky leg came out of nowhere in the penalty box, only for his improvised effort to smack the crossbar. He’d never been closer.

The glorious moment would come not long after though, in pretty much the most idyllic way imaginable. Having had so many horrendous efforts from range, the most poetic manner for Partey to score his first goal for the club had to be with a shoulder that the keeper should probably have saved. Beautiful.

Clearly he got some tips off Gabriel on how to open his Arsenal account.

What this does do is confirm that Partey can shoot inside the box all he wants, and leave the outside of the box stuff to someone else.

It will be a huge weight off his shoulders (pun intended). Having searched long and hard for this goal to finally get it should hopefully release the pressure valve a touch and put the handbrake on him going for the hero efforts from 30 yards out.

The cherry on a delicious cake.