Aston Villa entertained Arsenal at Villa Park earlier tonight as they hoped to earn a good result at home in the Premier League. The Villans made a bright start to the game and got their noses ahead in the fifth-minute courtesy of Ollie Watlkins’ impressive finish. However, Bukayo Saka equalised for Arsenal just 11 minutes later when he scored with a great strike. Philippe Coutinho restored Aston Villa’s advantage in the 31st minute with a good finish as the West Midlands club went into the half-time break with a 2-1 lead.
Oleksandr Zinchenko equalised for the Gunners in the 61st minute with a good strike from long-range. Emiliano Martinez scored an unfortunate own goal in injury time before Gabriel Martinelli killed the game off in the dying embers of the contest with a good breakaway goal. The match ended with Unai Emery’s men suffering a tough 4-2 loss in front of their home fans.
Let’s take a look at how each Aston Villa player fared during the match against the Gunners.
GK: Emiliano Martinez – 5/10
The Argentine keeper made just one save in the game and conceded four times during the 90 minutes.
RB: Matty Cash – 6.5/10
Cash had a tough game at the back but was lively on the ball and has got an assist to show for his efforts.
CB: Ezri Konsa – 6/10
Konsa made a few crucial clearances but was also guilty of making some poor defensive mistakes at the back.
CB: Tyrone Mings – 6/10
He was too slow to react to the danger and won’t be pleased after allowing four goals today.
LB: Alex Moreno – 7/10
The Spaniard was solid when defending inside his half and made a couple of decent chances in the final third.
RM: John McGinn – 6.5/10
McGinn was a positive influence at both ends of the field but has got nothing to show for his efforts.
CM: Douglas Luiz – 6.5/10
The Brazilian talent anchored the midfield well but failed to create anything meaningful going forward.
CM: Boubacar Kamara – 7/10
Kamara worked hard defensively and was good on the ball as well.
LM: Philippe Coutinho – 7.5/10
Coutinho scored a good goal in the first half and came back to help his teammates out at the back when needed.
ST: Emiliano Buendia – 7/10
He worked hard defensively and made a couple of impressive runs in the Arsenal half.
ST: Ollie Watkins – 7.5/10
Watkins made a great start to the game by scoring an early goal. However, he was quiet in the second half.
Substitutes:
LM: Jacob Ramsey – 6/10
He made one key chance in the final third.
ST: Leon Bailey – 6.5/10
Bailey was unfortunate to hit the crossbar.
CM: Leander Dendoncker – 5.5/10
He failed to protect his backline late in the game.
LB: Lucas Digne – 5.5/10
Digne looked vulnerable at the back.
ST: Jhon Duran – 6/10
He was a real handful for the Arsenal defenders.
