Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal: 4 talking points from huge win

Bukayo Saka Getting Kicked to Pieces

It’s a weekly occurrence. This young man is getting his ankles kicked to pieces with rotational fouls as well as plain aggression, with the lack of action from referees reaching obscene levels.

You worry, too, because his long-term health is at risk with the volume of challenges he has to face multiple times per game.

As for his performance, the young Englishman was again on another level at Villa Park. Up against Ashley Young, the 20-year-old toyed with the veteran and made him look average throughout.

Such was his dominance that Villa players kept resorting to chopping down the winger at every chance. This led to Arteta giving the Saka an early day, coming off in the 69th minute to protect him from further harm.

His goal in the first half was opportunistic but was a deserved goal. With that, he moves to Arsenal’s joint leading scorer in all competitions alongside Smith Rowe on 10, while also being the player to score Arsenal’s 2000th Premier League goal for good measure. Again, another Man of the Match performance.

Continued on next page…