Wow!! What a result. Hands up, who saw this happening at half time?!?! I messaged someone at half time that I couldn’t see where the goals were coming from and this might not be our day to day (or words to that affect). I’m sitting down now and eating those words with relish as Arsenal came out flying in the second half and blew Aston Villa away to ensure that they remained top of the league going into the New Year, and with a five point lead no less!!
As previously advertised, the first half was not great! Villa looked very threatening on the break and will probably have been a bit disappointed going into half time without scoring. They did waste a ridiculous amount of time with their ‘injuries’ and restarts as well, and generally made the game very stop/start, which was clearly part of their game plan.
At the other end, Arsenal didn’t quite click into gear and seemed to be really missing Declan Rice. Viktor Gyokeres had Arsenal’s two best chances, both headers, neither hit the target. I wouldn’t say either of the chances were sitters, but I would have expected him to get at least one of them on target.
Into the second half and Arsenal won their first corner of the match within the first few minutes and the opening goal followed shortly after as Gabriel bundled the ball home from just under the crossbar, as Emiliano Martinez pleaded for a foul that was never coming. We’ve missed Gabriel at the back, but we’ve also really missed him from set pieces as well. He didn’t even do a great deal with this one, he just jumped in a really awkward place and that was enough to give Arsenal the lead!!
The lead was doubled within a few minutes, to the relief of every Arsenal fan I’m sure, as our ability to hang onto one goal leads has come under severe scrutiny lately!! Arsenal won the ball back in midfield which allowed Martin Odegaard the chance to run at the Villa defence and slip in a delightful throughball, right between Villa’s two centre backs where Martin Zubimendi raced through to prod home. The ball was fantastic, the run perfectly timed and the finish absolutely f***ing lovely!! Great goal and even greater relief.
Arsenal were not done though and around 15 minutes late, Villa failed to clear a dangerous Odegaard cross and the loose ball was worked to Leandro Trossard on the edge of the penalty area, who made no mistake with a low finish into the right hand corner. There was a long wait which followed as the goal was initially flagged offside and after two separate offside checks, VAR finally gave Arsenal something and the three goal lead was confirmed.
If the Arsenal fans were in dreamland at this point, I’m not sure where they ended up after 78 minutes as Arsenal broke away again with Leandro Trossard getting in down the left wing and playing a perfect ball into substitute Gabriel Jesus. Despite my screams for the Brazilian to pass the ball on one more time to his right, Jesus took one touch and curled a lovely deft finish past Martinez into the corner to give Arsenal a fourth on the night and really put right some of the wrongs that were down last time out at Villa Park.
Cue multiple changes and a serious foot off the gas move by Arsenal as they allowed Aston Villa a late consolation to take a tiny bit of shine off an amazing win, but it was only a tiny bit so I’m already over it!!!
Arsenal scored four goals – FOUR!!! – in one game and showed Aston Villa what Arsenal are really about while also sending a message hurtling up the M6 to Manchester – Arsenal are only just getting started.
David Raya – 7
Strange one to rate as I don’t really remember him making a save in the first half, despite some dangerous Villa attacks and he definitely got away with flapping at an early corner. The second half, he had nothing to do, then made a world class save, then let in a bit of a soft goal to cost us our clean sheet. So on balance – I think a 7 is probably about right.
Jurrien Timber – 8
I wasn’t a big fan of his Calafiori impression in the first half, but he was much, much better after the break and became a real outlet for us down the right hand side of the pitch, popping up with a nice assist for Leandro Trossard. Not massively troubled defensively either, so this was a really good performance overall.
William Saliba – 7
A few iffy moments here and there. Didn’t have his own way against Ollie Watkins, but kept his composure, letting the Villa man have the ball on the odd occasion that Watkins got their first. Was decent in possession, but played his part in that really soft Villa goal at the end, which will have infuriated him and no doubt Mikel Arteta as well. Made one unreal clearance from a right wing cross with Watkins lurking behind him, which turned out to be offside anyway, but Saliba wasn’t to know that and did his job superbly regardless.
Gabriel – 8
Oh how we have missed this man. Put it all on the line, time and time again. Whether it was throwing his head in front of goal bound efforts, where you often see other players ducking or leaving his head there to be kicked by an opponent while clearing a cross, this was vintage Gabriel. Through in a set piece goal, a big roar of a celebration when doing a brilliant bit of defending and you have the perfect Gabriel performance!! I really hope that was just cramp that he went off with at the end…
Piero Hincapie – 8
I’ve not been convinced by him at full back so far, but this was much, much better from the Ecuadorian. Aggressive, as always, in every tackle. He just hates losing duels and I always feel confident when he goes into a 50/50. Made some great runs on the overlap that were not always fully utilised, but put in some dangerous crosses on the times where he was found. Found himself in a great position during one counter attack before losing his footing at the last moment. Possibly his best game in an Arsenal shirt, for me.
Martin Zubimendi – 8
Struggled to impose himself in the first half as Andre Onana proved too hot to handle, but came alive in the second half with his pressing and running power on show for all to see. Wonderful ‘striker’s’ run for his goal as he drove right through the heart of the Villa defence, before finishing expertly. Had a big hand in the fourth goal on the break as well, as he released Trossard down the left hand side and there were at least two or three other instances where he helped us keep the pressure on Villa with his tackling and pressing.
Mikel Merino – 6
Another who really struggled in the first half. Merino has many skills, but running back towards his own goal is not one of them, and unfortunately he had to do this on a number of occasions in the first half as Villa threatened on the transition. Improved in the second half and had a few neat touches here and there, as well as winning the majority of his duels. I think he was very lucky not to receive a second yellow card though and the fact that he was withdrawn shortly after told it’s own story.
Martin Odegaard – 8
Sublime again. At the hear of everything good about Arsenal’s attacking play. Some lovely intricate play, especially his assist for Zubimendi’s goal, after his own pressure had won the ball back and it was another brilliant ball in from the Skipper that led to Trossard’s goal as well. Absolutely everywhere, absolutely brilliant, absolutely thrilled to have this guy back and firing again.
Bukayo Saka – 6
Mark the date, Arsenal scored 4 goals and Bukayo Saka barely touched the ball! He didn’t do anything particularly bad. Maybe a loose touch here and there, but as most of Arsenal’s play went down the left hand side, Saka barely touched the ball for long periods of this game. Saying that, it was also his corner which Gabriel bundled home, and he also had a hand in the third goal as well. Probably should have made it 5 late on but placed over when well placed.
Viktor Gyokeres – 5
I’ve been holding back on dropping his rating below 6 and I feel bad giving any player a rating this low on such a great night, but there were a couple of instances tonight where I felt like he forced my hand a bit. The two first half misses could have been really costly and I think he should do better with at least one of them. When games are tight, you need those to go in, so that’s one thing that he didn’t really do enough with. His hold up play in the first half was again poor and this time he nearly cost us a goal with it as well, which is unforgivable really. When you’re teammates trust you with the ball in dangerous areas, as Raya did, you need to earn that trust by looking after the ball and he failed to do that. Improved in the second half, as he has done in his past few appearances however, Jesus then came on and showed Gyokeres how it’s done and probably claimed a starting place away at Bournemouth in the process.
Leandro Trossard – 8 PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Our only dangerous attacker in the first half, as he put in a great ball for Gyokeres and generally looked our most likely outlet. Tormented out of position Lamare Bogarde at times Trossard then stepped it up a notch in the second half, scoring the third, making the fourth and generally looking threatening every time he touched the ball. Just edges it over Martin Odegaard, as he was the strongest performer across the full 90 minutes.
Subs:
Christian Norgaard – 7 – I don’t understand why he’s played so little. Perfect player to bring into a game state like this. Heading everything and was just an extra level of security that we needed in the closing stages. Deserves to play more.
Gabriel Jesus – 7 – What a moment for him to score right at the end of the year where he’s missed nearly the full 12 months through injury. Was lively throughout, some great hold up play and touches and then the finish for the fourth was delightful. Starts the next match for me.
Myles Lewis-Skelly – 5 – Didn’t see much of him on the ball, but defensively I thought he was pretty poor as he was caught ball watching for the John McGinn chance and then did it again minutes later for Watkins’ goal. Needs to switch on, regardless of the scoreline.
Noni Madueke – 5 – Looked desperate to get on the ball and do something, but the game was over as a contest before he came on and he was therefore unable to make any telling impact.
Ben White – 5 – See above for Madueke. Not on long enough to create an impact, aside from a few clearances. Good to see him back though and really nice to be able to rest Timber in the closing minutes while also giving White a run out – this is how it’s supposed to be!!
Final note – not very often you get to roll up so many emotions into one win – so happy to end Villa’s winning run and put some balance back into this league, elated to extend our lead to 5 points at the top of the league (at the time of writing!), relieved that we didn’t slip up and let in Villa/City, so proud of the team the performance and thrilled to inflict to lay down a few demons that were raised during the reverse fixture. COME ON YOU GUNNERS!!