Aston Villa welcomed Arsenal at Villa Park earlier this evening as they hoped to secure another win at home in the Premier League. The Villans made a bright start to the game and scored the opening goal in the seventh minute when John McGinn got his name on the scoresheet with a great finish. Unai Emery’s men sat on their lead well and went into the half-time interval 1-0 up on the scoreline.
The West Midlands club were solid in the second half and secured a narrow 1-0 victory in front of their home fans.
Let’s take a look at how each Aston Villa player performed during the clash against the Gunners.
GK: Emiliano Martinez – 7/10
The Argentine keeper made a few important saves at the back and earned a well-deserved clean sheet at home.
RB: Ezri Konsa – 7/10
Konsa gave a good account of himself when defending inside his half and was accurate with his passing.
CB: Diego Carlos – 8/10
He got stuck in with some solid tackles and managed to clear the danger when required.
CB: Pau Torres – 7/10
The Spaniard put his foot through the ball when the opposition were on the front foot and would be quite happy with the clean sheet this evening.
LB: Lucas Digne – 7/10
He did his fair share of defending and was a threat in the opponent’s half.
RW: Leon Bailey – 7/10
Bailey used his pace well at times in the first half and picked up an assist for setting up McGinn’s goal.
CM: Boubacar Kamara – 7/10
He anchored the midfield with conviction but struggled to influence the game in the final third.
CM: Douglas Luiz – 7/10
Luiz got stuck in with some solid tackles and made one key chance from midfield.
LW: John McGinn – 8.5/10
McGinn was the best player on the pitch today and deserves a lot of credit for scoring the only goal of the game in the seventh minute.
CAM: Youri Tielemans – 6.5/10
He came back to defend when needed but offered very little in the final third.
ST: Ollie Watkins – 6.5/10
Watkins was not shy of having a strike at goal but failed to get his name on the scoresheet.
Substitutes:
RW: Moussa Diaby – 6/10
He added some pace and creativity to Unai Emery’s attack.
CAM: Jacob Ramsey – 6/10
Ramsey struggled to get into the flow of the game.
RB: Matty Cash – 6.5/10
He was solid at the back.
CM: Leander Dendoncker – 6.5/10
Dendoncker performed his defensive duties well.
LB: Alex Moreno – 6/10
He got stuck in with some crunching tackles.
