Arsenal had trouble with Palace – just wait for Aston Villa

Arsenal need three points from Aston Villa on Friday, and that is the long and short of it. To extrapolate a bit further, however, after the tough test that Patrick Vieira’s side gave the Gunners – nearly taking three points of their own – they will need to show that their heads are in the right place when they face a very tough, very gritty set of Villans.

While Aston Villa is obviously without their former golden boy, the one, the only, Jack Grealish, they certainly were busy before and after his sale, regarding the purchasing of new faces for the club. This is a who’s who of perennial transfer rumor mill favorites, including Danny Ings, Leon Bailey, and Emi Buendia, and these players, while still getting their feel for Villa and Dean Smith, will make the impact they were signed to make. That might be an issue for Arsenal.

They will also be facing Emi Martinez in goal, who should probably be the other goalkeeper with the Gunners alongside Aaron Ramsdale, instead of at Villa. It will be a tough task to get shots past them, as well as their young, explicit defenders, which features  the more experienced Tyrone Mings in a strong, lead position in front of the goal.

Between these offensive pieces and the defensive backline and keeper that Villa have brought with them to London, it could be a tough day for Gooners and Gunners alike, should Mikel Arteta and company not get their minds back into the games that are ahead, and out of their previous and future international break plans and commitments. Can they do this though?

Arsenal are a team that can do this, but having struggled against Palace the Aston Villa test will be sterner

Laughing is good before a very serious affair, because it is positive to be as natural and as relaxed as possible before endeavoring upon your task. Perhaps Arsenal should give it a go just as they are about to leave their beautiful, remodeled home locker room, to mount the challenge against a very feisty, so far underachieving Aston Villa outfit.

Even when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his early goal against Palace, which was ultimately squandered by the Gunners’ own defensive miscues, it didn’t feel like the team was loose, was having enough fun, really knew what they needed to do, and how much effort what they needed to do would take.

Palace, while scrappy and clearly well-coached, do not have the resources that even a relatively down or struggling Arsenal have. But, as I said previously, they demonstrated brilliant effort, which Arsenal definitely seemed to lack after they jumped out to the early lead. By the time Lacazette had to save them at the death it was the Gunners who were having to pull the game back from them, instead of the other way around.

If Arsenal tries this against Smith’s Villa there will likely be no sudden, at-the-death draw or victory in store for them. Villa know what they want to be, and after selling Grealish, while also remaining in the Premier League, they’ve done a proper job building a team that, although maybe not as good as they were with Grealish just last year, have now the players and depth to grow much better than the Grealish era club had ever been.

The Gunners, therefore, cannot let this happen to them early on: they must demonstrate pace, aggression, imagination, drive, and most of all, effort, in order to start out and remain strong against the Villans for all 90 minutes of the match. Anything less than that from Arsenal is dangerous, and that lack of discipline might eventually leave the door for Villa just wide enough to change the complexion of the final result in a detrimental manner.

Arsenal got out of the gates after the second international break a bit foggier than they entered them, but that is not uncommon for players or teams coming out worldwide travel.

If they can regain their form that only showed itself in moments against Crystal Palace last week, the Gunners will be fine, and likely take three points with them from the pitch. Yet, if not, then the Villa game could be unpleasant to watch, and even more so than the Palace affair.