Arsenal edge Villa through Saka as Arteta marks milestone with 3 points

It was not a flowing Arsenal display for long spells, but it was controlled enough when it mattered and sharp enough to punish a Villa side whose miserable start to the season is now becoming hard to ignore.

Match highlight

After a brutal few weeks that included heavy departures and a 4-0 opening defeat to Brighton, Unai Emery's side came out with good energy and almost took a spectacular early lead when Emiliano Buendia crashed a long-range effort against the bar after 12 minutes. That was one of the few moments they really looked alive in the final 3rd.

Before the break, the home side competed well enough and Arsenal's clearest danger mostly came from set pieces. Declan Rice forced Zion Suzuki into a save from a corner, with the Japanese goalkeeper making his Villa debut after arriving this summer.

Arsenal had more of the ball, but they struggled to turn possession into clean chances, and neither side managed a shot on target before half-time. Villa's other debutant, new £65 million striker Nicolas Jackson, cut an isolated figure up front and rarely looked connected to the rest of the attack.

Arteta tried to change the rhythm after the break. He sent on Eberechi Eze for Christos Tzolis, but Villa created the first opening of the 2nd half when Ian Maatsen fired over from a tight angle. The Dutchman was then involved in one of the big moments of the night.

Referee Jarred Gillett initially pointed to the spot after Maatsen brought down Saka, only for VAR to confirm the contact had happened just outside the box. Martin Odegaard took the free-kick and missed by inches, which felt like a warning Villa should have taken seriously.

A minute before the hour mark, Arsenal finally found the breakthrough. Riccardo Calafiori surged past the Villa back line and delivered low across the area for Saka to convert from close range, making it 2 Premier League goals in a row for the winger.

Arsenal suddenly had more space, more confidence and more control. Bruno Guimaraes then came off the bench to make his Premier League debut for the club, while Suzuki had to produce a fine save in a one-on-one against Kai Havertz to stop the visitors from killing the match earlier.

Ezri Konsa came on for Arsenal against the club he had only just left earlier this month, and the defender helped Arteta's side see out the closing stages without too much real panic.

So Arsenal leave with 2 wins from 2. They have now won their first away league match of the season for a club-record 5 straight years, while Villa remain pointless and, more worryingly, are still waiting for their first shot on target of the Premier League campaign.