Was the first half a cause for concern, or did we just start slow?

Arsenal regained control of the Premier League title race after beating Brighton 2-1. Despite completely dominating most of the proceedings, they were almost left ruing missed chances. However, they avoided any hiccups and moved two points clear of Manchester City. They then had the chance to move five points clear with a victory over Aston Villa. Given Mikel Arteta’s record against Unai Emery, it wasn’t going to be a sure thing.

I’m not going to talk much about the first half because it was an absolute abomination. From a footballing perspective and as a spectacle. Arsenal really struggled to carve out chances for themselves. Viktor Gyokeres had a couple of headers that missed the target along with Leandro Trossard forcing a comfortable save from Emiliano Martinez. At the other end, Ollie Watkins had the best chance of the first half. The ball arrived in his path just outside the 6 yard box. Watkins opted to try and hit it first time using his side foot, but didn’t get the connection he wanted and it whistled wide of the post. That should’ve been 1-0. Although, a bit later on, William Saliba’s interception prevented a guaranteed goal. The ball was sent into the box and it evaded everyone except the outstretched leg of Saliba who just managed to poke the ball out for a corner. Arsenal were living life on the edge and Villa knew it. They continued to bypass our midfield for the rest of the half.

The 2nd half came around and clearly something had been tinkered with in terms of setup. Villa struggled to find space in our midfield and we punished them for not being able to really get out their half. A corner was swung in and Gabriel jumped to reach the incoming ball. Martinez, in goal, attempted to claim the corner, but wasn’t strong enough in his actions. The ball rolled down Gabriel’s body and into the back of the net. 1-0 Arsenal. In the blink of an eye, Arsenal had doubled their lead. Martin Odegaard won possession back in Villa’s half and immediately set about seeing what options were in front of him. He spotted a run made by Martin Zubimendi, through the middle, the ball arrived in the Spaniard’s path and he was able to slot it beyond Martinez. Arsenal continued to apply pressure and were rewarded with a few chances. Jurrien Timber fired over from close range as well as Odegaard. Odegaard’s next shot was destined for the bottom corner, but Martinez got a glove to it and turned it behind. Within the same sustained attack, the ball arrived at Trossard’s feet who thumped his effort way out of Martinez’s reach. 3-0, but not before a lengthy VAR check. It was then Arsenal who struck again 10 minutes later. Gabriel Jesus was introduced and was immediately thrown into the battle. He picked up the ball on the edge of the box and curled an effort into the bottom corner. 4-0 and Arsenal were cruising. They weren’t letting Villa breathe as they went for the jugular. Bukayo Saka had a couple of sighters, but were unfortunately off target. Aston Villa hadn’t had a shot on target all game until injury time hit. Suddenly, Villa came alive and hit the post. The follow up fell to John McGinn who had an open goal to aim for as David Raya was scrambling to recover from the shot against the post. To McGinn’s disbelief, Raya appeared before him and managed to keep out his shot. It was an incredible moment and one which seemed to guarantee the clean sheet was safe. But, Villa were gifted another open goal to aim for. This time Ollie Watkins made sure it crossed the line. 4-1 and the clean sheet was gone.

Arsenal have been a creative force since the Wolves game. They’ve generated 11.18 xG across four games. However, Arsenal have only scored 8 times. Against Aston Villa, Arsenal had 22 shots, 7 of which were on target. This generated an xG of 3.04 with 6 big chances created. Aston Villa, on the other hand, had just 11 shots and only three of them were on target. This generated them an xG of 2.67 with 5 big chances created.

Player Ratings:

Raya – 8 – He gets an 8 just for that McGinn save alone. It didn’t rescue the clean sheet bonus in the end, but it was an incredible save. Considering Villa didn’t get a shot on target until injury time in the 2nd half, Raya didn’t have much to do.

Timber – 7 – He got forward a fair few times and almost added to the scoreline, but not his most entrepreneurial performance. He did well in the battle against Morgan Rogers though.

Saliba – 8 – Much like Raya, that little toe poke of an interception to prevent a guaranteed goal just earns him an 8 minimum. However, he struggled to deal with Donyell Malen for his role in Ollie Watkins’ goal.

Gabriel – 8 – He was stellar at the back and technically kept a clean sheet for the duration of his time on the pitch. He also opened the floodgates after his goal. The Gabriel we know and love, back with a bang.

Hincapie – 7 – I much prefer him at left back. I think he’s quite similar to Ben White in what he offers. He prefers to overlap instead of inverting and can whip in a mean cross. He battles hard defensively and dealt with Jadon Sancho pretty well.

Zubimendi – 8 – Our midfield was non-existent in the first half, but not in Zubimendi’s zone. The 2nd half is when he came alive. He drifted more into Declan Rice’s role, essentially to plug the hole that Villa kept exploiting in the first half. He was so much more than that though as he grabbed himself a sweet goal. Top performance.

Merino – 6 – Firstly, I will say he had some nice moments, but purely in the 2nd half. His first half was an abomination. He left our midfield wide open because he didn’t know when to press or sit. Villa knew this and knew he wasn’t quick enough to recover, unlike Rice. The amount of times they completely bypassed our midfield was insane. It all came through Merino’s zone.

Odegaard – 8 – He was a passenger in the first half, but the 2nd half was much better. He entered into that flow state we see from him sometimes. Everything was coming through him at one point and he grabbed an assist with a wonderful through ball.

Saka – 6 – He wasn’t anywhere near his influential best tonight. He was marked out the game in the first half, but found more success in the 2nd. However, the space that he had wasn’t made the most out of. His chances weren’t taken with any ounce of composure.

Gyokeres – 6 – I liked some of his movement in this game, it’s better than it has been. However, I fear his place in the side might be in danger due to Kai Havertz’s return and Gabriel Jesus’ form. He needs to do his job and score goals, otherwise Arteta will find another source.

Trossard – 9 (MOTM) – Apart from Saliba, he’s the only player that can hold his head high after that first half performance. He’s the only one that showed some courage to try something, to change the game. His 2nd half was much the same, only his colleagues were more courageous this time. He grabbed a wonderfully struck goal and continued to create danger.

Substitutes:

Norgaard – 7 – In my opinion, he should’ve started in Rice’s absence. He’s much more qualified than Merino to lock down a midfield and prevent transitional threat. However, when he did come on, we saw how well he can stabilise a team.

Lewis-Skelly – 6 – He was okay, but didn’t really need to do much. I feel like the left hand side of the defence became weaker when Hincapie moved into centre back. We need more from him, otherwise he’s going to lose his space in the squad when Riccardo Calafiori returns.

Jesus – 8 – Another excellent cameo from our Brazilian. Within his first action he was putting the ball in the back of the net. He’s a master of his craft and I feel like we’ve got a real asset on our hands for the remainder of the campaign.

White – N/A –

Madueke – N/A –

That’s it for player ratings and for this game. Our poor first half outing was saved by the pure dominance in the 2nd. Aston Villa are certainly a bogey team for us and we overcame that obstacle with flying colours. Next up is Bournemouth away from home. Here’s how I’d lineup, given the latest injury news.

We’ve got a lot of fixtures between now and the international break in March. This means rotation is a must to keep everyone as fresh as we can. The defence picks itself at the moment until White is fitter and Calafiori is back. I’d like to see Norgaard and Zubimendi in midfield, but with Zubi in Rice’s role. Assuming Rice won’t be fit. Noni Madueke can be extremely dangerous and he’ll be running on fresh legs. Eberechi Eze hasn’t played a single minute over the course of the Brighton and Villa games, Odegaard is due a rest. Gabriel Martinelli is just good rotation with Trossard. I think Gyokeres gets the nod again, but I have a feeling he’ll be replaced by Kai Havertz, to integrate him back into the side. We still have Saka, Odegaard, Trossard, Havertz and Jesus to choose from if we need a game changer. Let’s get it!