Arsenal beat Aston Villa with one key ingredient

Arsenal didn’t play like they needed to play when Crystal Palace came across town on matchweek seven, and despite getting out ahead 1-0 right as the game was beginning, they would only end up capturing a last-minute draw when Alexandre Lacazette scored a goal near the fifth minute of stoppage time.

It was said that the team was frustrated after, and when they faced and defeated Aston Villa by a score of 3-1, they played as though they remembered what that frustration felt like. They were angry. It was a brilliant offensive show, with a really solid defensive showing to boot. There was nothing Aaron Ramsdale could do about their lone goal, and while that blemish will make some critics raise their eyebrows and parse their lips, positives must be celebrated when they’re apparent.

When Arsenal hosted a well-coached Aston Villa side it was impressive how the team played, with fluidity, movement and aggressive opportunities. It likely should have at least been 4-1 with the save that Emi Martinez made against Bukayo Saka, but the play overall across 95 minutes was smooth and pleasant to watch.

Emile Smith Rowe’s fortuitous strike that struck Tyrone Mings and the left goalpost was only less special than the run and the pass that sprung him in the first instant; the headed effort by Thomas Partry was cool as you like, and perfectly angled, while the penalty follow-up that Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang put at the back of the net was as crucial as any of the other two.

Arsenal really put the pedal to the metal against Aston Villa with a performance of anger and intensity

While each of these players got a goal, the entire game was a full team effort; from Albert Sambi Lokonga, to Alexandre Lacazette; and Nuno Tavares had all of the energy on the pitch and looked really active and impressive while Kieren Tierney was unable to play.

Gabriel Magalhaes and Benjamin White paired so well together,it looked as though they have played together for years. Operating as a single unit of two people, both of their talents combined to even out any of their singular deficiencies. Takehiro Tomiyasu bounced back too at right-back and continued to demonstrate a generally impressive form since coming over from Serie A.

All of that, in front of the ever-impressive Aaron Ramsdale, meant that Villa wasn’t going to have a very good chance at scoring too many goals. But it was the formation choice that was perhaps most impressive by the boss; he reunited Laca and Auba, and they each played as if the clocks went back three years; Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka provided width as flankers all up and down the pitch, while the defensive presence was immense when it needed to be as well.

The boss put his team in a great strategic position to win but, indeed, it remains the players who must execute in the positions they are put. This team win, full of anger and frustration from Monday, continues their unbeaten streak and should give the outfit confidence for their upcoming matches in the Carabao Cup and the Premier League.

Leeds United and Leicester City will be two difficult matches, despite that the Gunners are in better form than each club. Marcelo Bielsa and Brendan Rogers are two really wonderful coaches, and they will have their teams prepared to get a victory and in the case of the Foxes, three points.

But so will Arteta, and after we all know what this team can be capable of, they will all understand that their task is to replicate this form match in and match out.

Arsenal and their young boss took a massive gamble as they’ve looked to rebuild this outfit. They have literally become the youngest team in the Premier League, littered with talent that is aided by timely experience across the pitch. So far, despite the doubters, however, the results of this young team, even as some of their expensive players have yet to find their own consistent form, have really been impressive.

They have made many folks rethink their stances on Arsenal this season, and for good reason: the Gunners have the talent, and while there are some weeks where they will be outgunned, they have so much room for growth, that the rest of England and Europe better watch out should they get it all fixed and steady.

They are on their way though.