Welcoming Arsenal to Villa Park, coach Unai Emery kept the same players who started against Man City. Youri Tielemans and Watkins played important roles in attack while Leon Bailey - the player who scored the decisive goal against Man City goalkeeper Ederson - was also ready to explode on the right wing.
About 30 minutes before the match, coach Unai Emery confidently declared on Sky Sports: “Aston Villa have recovered well, rested well and we have to do everything possible on the pitch to get 3 points. Arsenal have very good players and the ability to control the game. But Aston Villa have prepared everything carefully, we have to play our best and you wait and see what happens.”
Coach Unai Emery confidently declared to win 3 points against Arsenal
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had to direct the match from the stands. Earlier, the Spanish coach had celebrated enthusiastically after Declan Rice's goal to seal the 4-3 victory against Luton Town (6.12). The "Gunners" only had 1 change when Oleksandr Zinchenko replaced Jakub Kiwior.
Aston Villa showed that their overwhelming victory over Man City in round 15 was not due to luck. The Villa Park team suddenly attacked Arsenal from the beginning of the match with a variety of tactics. Just 7 minutes into the first half, Aston Villa fans had a chance to celebrate when John McGinn scored accurately, opening the score of the match. Notably, the player who contributed the most to this goal was still a familiar face - Leon Bailey. The Jamaican midfielder dribbled the ball bravely on the right wing and left Arsenal's defenders helpless to keep up.
John McGinn with his familiar celebration after "sowing sadness" for the away team in the 7th minute
In the remaining 80 minutes of the match, Arsenal continuously created problems for Emiliano Martínez's goal. According to statistics from Sofascore , the Gunners controlled the ball up to 65% and had 12 shots (2 more than Aston Villa). The away team also had more clear scoring opportunities with 5 shots on target. Unfortunately, the efforts of the London team were all blocked by goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez - a former Arsenal player. The 32-year-old goalkeeper blocked 4 dangerous situations of the opponent, helping Aston Villa keep a clean sheet and receive the highest score in this match.
Emiliano Martinez left his old team without a chance to celebrate
Witnessing what his players were doing on the pitch, the camera continuously captured the moment when coach Mikel Arteta was angry in the stands. The Arsenal captain even reacted and did not wait for the referee to blow the final whistle. Instead, the 41-year-old coach quickly rushed out the door and went to the Arsenal coaching staff to discuss.
“A really good performance from Aston Villa but we should have got the result we deserved because we were the better team,” Mikel Arteta told Sky Sports. “But this is football and we have to accept it. What did the Aston Villa players do with the ball from Havertz, Jesus? I don’t want to comment. The referee put us at a disadvantage in this game.”
Coach Mikel Arteta left the stands before the referee blew the final whistle.
In contrast to coach Mikel Arteta, coach Unai Emery celebrated brightly. The 1-0 victory over Arsenal helped Aston Villa gain 35 points, maintaining 3rd place and only 1 point behind the 2nd place of the "Gunners". More notably, this was Aston Villa's 15th consecutive victory at Villa Park under the Spanish coach, an achievement that no other coach of this team has achieved.
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