Arsenal faced off against Aston Villa at Villa Park earlier today as they hoped to collect maximum points on the road. The Gunners made a bright start to the game and took the lead at the half-hour mark courtesy of Bukayo Saka’s decent strike from outside the box. Mikel Arteta’s men sat on their advantage well and went into the half-time break 1-0 up on the scoreline.
Both teams canceled each other out in the second half as the contest finished 1-0 in favour of the Gunners.
Let’s take a look at how each Arsenal player performed during the match against the Villans.
GK: Bernd Leno – 7/10
The German goalie made one crucial save during the game and secured an easy clean sheet on the road.
RB: Cedric Soares – 7/10
He kept things solid at the back and engineered two key chances in the Aston Villa half.
CB: Ben White – 7.5/10
White cleared the danger when needed and earned possession back a few times for his side. He will be content with the clean sheet today.
CB: Gabriel – 7/10
The Brazilian centre-back made plenty of clearances inside his half and was tidy with his passing.
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LB: Kieran Tierney – 6.5/10
He performed his defensive duties well but offered very little in the final third.
CM: Martin Odegaard – 6.5/10
Odegaard retained possession really well for Arsenal and managed to create a couple of decent chances in the final third.
CM: Thomas Partey – 7.5/10
He offered good protection for his teammates at the back and made two promising runs with the ball from midfield.
CM: Granit Xhaka – 6.5/10
The Swiss sensation cleared his lines when required and fashioned one good opportunity in the opponent’s half.
RW: Bukayo Saka – 8/10
Saka was a real handful for the Aston Villa defenders and scored the only goal of the game with a good strike in the first half.
ST: Alexandre Lacazette – 6.5/10
The Frenchman had a couple of shot attempts but didn’t do enough to get his name on the scoresheet.
LW: Emile Smith Rowe – 6.5/10
He showed a few flashes of what he is capable of but struggled to create chances for others around him.
Substitutes:
RW: Nicolas Pepe – 6/10
Pepe offered very little after coming off the bench.
ST: Eddie Nketiah – 6/10
He made an important clearance at the back.
CB: Rob Holding – N/A
Holding came off the bench to see out the win.
