Arsenal: 4 big positives from 1-0 Aston Villa win

Whenever an international break is up next the last thing you want is to have a defeat festering in your mind throughout it. There is another gap in fixtures for Arsenal, but we can sit through it with a smile etched across our faces.

Bukayo Saka proved to be the match-winner at a sun soaked Villa Park, coming up with the decisive moment 30 minutes in when a well-taken half volley flew beyond Emi Martinez in the Villa net.

Having previously gone 17 matches unbeaten in this stadium, Mikel Arteta had yet to taste anything other than defeat in his two outings there as Gunners boss. Victory had never been more important than now.

Steven Gerrard has added quality to his side and despite losing to West Ham last time out, the Villans were in good form heading into this one.

Arsenal: 4 big positives from 1-0 Aston Villa win as Mikel Arteta’s side take a grip of the Premier League top four ahead of international break

Yet they were made to look average by this Arsenal team, who were worthy winners in the end.

If there are criticisms to aim it’s that it shouldn’t have been allowed to get as nervy as that. The chances were there for the visitors to put the game to bed, with Alexandre Lacazette in particular spurning one presentable opportunity when he opted to take a shot on instead of feeding Martin Odegaard in acres of space.

There is now time to recover and refocus. Arsenal aren’t back in Premier League action until April 4 when they make the short journey south to Crystal Palace, with the large majority of the squad jetting off on international duty with their respective nations.

In the mean time, what there is still plenty of time for is to enjoy the moment. A performance bursting with positive notes has four that stood out.

1. Domination From the Outset

Speaking after the game Mikel Arteta highlighted the importance of Arsenal putting their foot down early doors and weathering any Aston Villa storm. Insisting that his side expected the hosts to come at them in the opening exchanges, no such onslaught materialised.

That’s because Arsenal took complete control. It was vitally important that they flaunted their authority from the offset.

Having exerted so much energy in the two previous games it would have been really easy for Arsenal to get stuck under the raucous crowd. Their more rested opponents could come out of the blocks, prey on any fatigue and mount the pressure from the first minute.

To have dictated the flow of the match for large spells is a credit to the mentality of this team. Whether or not they played 60 hours earlier and lost, their desire to take control of the match and keep the hosts at bay was as much about quality as it was about having the right mindset.

Villa had been in good form and to starve them of the ball in meaningful areas, fizz passes around, and retain possession when the time called for it showed maturity and character.

The problem? There weren’t enough goals to show for it. Dropping points in this game would have been a travesty, and it prompted the late nerves, but even when the ball was in Villa’s grasp Arsenal still dominated the game from a defensive standpoint with their semi-famous 2-3-5.

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2. Palpable Unity Between Fans, Players…..and the Manager

The celebration police were out in full force once again. Yes, really, more people got annoyed at Arsenal demonstrating basic human emotion.

"“We want to make this a tough place to come and I think it is a tough place,” Ashley Young told Villa TV. “You saw the way they celebrated, to be honest it was like they won the league. But it shows they found it tough. So we want to make it a tough place to come, but we want to be winning games as well.”"

You have to have a heart of coal not to be swept up in the spirit of this team. The way the players all huddled around Bernd Leno at the end of the game, including the injured Aaron Ramsdale who insisted on traveling north, is truly special.

And sure, there were celebrations at the end. Arsenal just won a football match. That’s a pretty standard reason to be cheerful. Sorry, Ashley and Ruben.

But this is something never seen before in the Emirates era. The way the players interact with the fans is on another level. There is a love and a unity within this team and within the club as a whole that is warming and comforting. Even the manager has his own unique chant now.

It’s a feeling words can’t describe. It’s special.

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3. Tactical Intelligence

Arteta sets out his tactical plan for every game, one that the players aim to follow to the best of their ability. It’s the manager’s job to spot weakness in the opposition and build a gameplan accordingly.

However, he can’t directly change matters in-game. The opposition will alter their approach, tweak a few aspects and then it is majorly on the players to respond.

They way this team thinks about the game is incredibly impressive as they spot the nuances in the opposition shape and use their own football brains to decipher how best to solve it. In the first half, for example, John McGinn was playing a crucial role in helping Villa play their way out of trouble.

It was him picking up the ball and acting as a pressure valve, a trait Arsenal picked up on. Suddenly he was having more bodies around him and less time to bridge the defence and attack, resulting in Arsenal sustaining their spells of danger for longer.

Then in the second half when Matty Cash started to make driving runs infield as he was having little joy on the exterior, Granit Xhaka dropped off a few yards to form more of a double pivot to block those central spaces.

This is a group of players who are excellently coached. They’re always thinking, always on their toes and always willing to react to certain situations with a confidence that they’re making the right decision.

Villa Park was an excellent example of that.

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4. Arsenal Carry Momentum Over

There is no way that Arsenal can still be classed as favourites for fourth position. No yet. Even if they boast a lead over Tottenham and are four clear of Manchester United with a game in hand, their fixture list is significantly tougher than Spurs’, for example.

Momentum is firmly behind them, though, and their form struck fear into one of the best sides in Europe earlier in midweek.

Yet it only takes one result to shift the mood. Losing to Liverpool was expected, but if they slipped up here it is a psychological blow to them just as much as it is a mental boost for those around them.

You do not want to head into a two week international break left to stew over dropped points, especially when April has some extremely tough fixtures to navigate past. Once again Arsenal will play three times in a week, only on this occasion that includes Chelsea away and Manchester United at home.

What this result does is let positivity remain. If (when) Arsenal drop more points there will at least be another game shortly after to make amends. Losing, or even drawing, against Villa would present no such opportunity to react.

This was the biggest win of the season so far. Without doubt.