Aston Villa welcomed Arsenal at Villa Park earlier today as they hoped to grind out a positive result at home. The Villans made a slow start to the game and conceded the opening goal at the half-hour mark when Bukayo Saka scored with a good strike from outside the box. The West Midlands outfit failed to come up with a response and went into the half-time break 1-0 down on the scoreline.
Steven Gerrard’s men struggled to net the equaliser in the second half and crashed to a 1-0 defeat in front of their home fans.
Let’s take a look at how each Aston Villa player fared during the contest against the Gunners.
GK: Emiliano Martinez – 6.5/10
The Argentine custodian made a couple of good saves but probably should have done better to prevent Saka’s goal.
RB: Matty Cash – 6.5/10
Cash cleared the danger when needed and made a few decent runs with the ball down the right-wing.
CB: Ezri Konsa – 6/10
The Aston Villa centre-back made two crucial clearances inside his half and was accurate when passing his way out from the back.
CB: Tyrone Mings – 6.5/10
He was strong in the air and made some important defensive contributions during the game.
LB: Ashley Young – 6/10
The former Manchester United player struggled to influence the game at both ends of the field.
CM: John McGinn – 7/10
The Scottish talent offered decent protection for his teammates at the back and orchestrated two good chances in the final third. He also made a couple of energetic runs with the ball.
CM: Douglas Luiz – 6/10
He made one important interception at the centre of the park but failed to make an impact in the opposition half.
CM: Jacob Ramsey – 6/10
Ramsey kept the ball moving well but struggled to be inventive in the attacking end of the field.
RW: Emiliano Buendia – 6/10
Buendia did his fair share of defending but never looked like he would score.
ST: Ollie Watkins – 6/10
The English striker worked hard but failed to threaten the Arsenal goal.
LW: Philippe Coutinho – 6.5/10
Coutinho had a couple of bright moments in the opposition half but was closely monitored by the Arsenal defenders.
Substitutes:
RW: Bertrand Traore – 6/10
He failed to find the back of the net.
LW: Leon Bailey – 6/10
His impact on the game was minimal.
ST: Danny Ings – N/A
Ings didn’t get enough time to make an impact.