Arsenal leave it late to return to winning ways at Villa Park

Aston Villa 2 Arsenal 4   
Premier League   
Saturday 18th February 2023 12.30pm   

Things needed shaking up a bit after the last three matches and Mikel Arteta brought Leandro Trossard into Arsenal’s starting eleven in place of Martinelli, and Ben White reclaimed his position at right back after Tomiyasu’s below par display against Manchester City. Unfortunately, the changes did not have a positive effect in the first half as Villa outscored their opponents by two goals to one.

 

Unai Emery’s side took the lead after five minutes when Zinchenko lost possession trying to go past his man and then failed to take a card and stop the break that developed. Arsenal were caught cold on the counter attack as Saliba failed to deal with Olly Watkins, who was able to slot the ball past Ramsdale without too much resistance. It was an avoidable goal, a little too easy. The Gunners regrouped and their pressure in Villa’s half created an equaliser as Mings’ poor headed clearance fell to Saka to volley home.

 

Arsenal may have had more of the ball, but Villa attacked with intelligence and purpose in the move that restored their advantage after half an hour when one pass removed Ben White from the picture and Moreno was able to fire a pass across the box – and through the legs of Xhaka - for Coutinho to pick his spot. You had the feeling that defensively, Arsenal were starting to fall apart. 

 

It was an open enough game – yes, Villa were sitting back, but they weren’t completely negative, and didn’t throttle space as much as Everton did in Arsenal’s previous away game. So the space was there to do things, but once more, the absence of Jesus seems to be hurting Arsenal’s creativity. Nketiah does get on the end of chances, but presently he can’t seem to buy a goal.

 

As luck would have it, he didn’t need to get on the scoresheet today, as a dramatic second half saw the Gunners eventually score three more, although for a long time it looked like they might only get out of Villa Park with a point from a game they had to win for a number of reasons. Arsenal dominated possession and you felt a goal had to come as the second half wore on, and after an hour Zinchenko delivered. A well worked corner saw him receive the ball in space and shooting distance from the goal – his low finish just inside the post was a moment of pure class. The scorer was not interested in celebrating – even with so much of the game remaining – which was good to see. 

 

In time, Trossard was removed for Martinelli to come on – a good sub – and as the game became far more stretched, there was hope a much-needed winning goal would come. As the clock ticket away, I had the feeling that the last 20 minutes was going to be hugely significant in Arsenal’s season – not so much for the points that might be won or dropped but the momentum and the psychology. Memories went back to a 2-2 draw in Birmingham in February 15 years ago, which proved to be a turning point in the season, with psychological scars that some might argue lasted for years. 

 

With this in mind, the moment when Odegaard missed a relative sitter after being teed up in front of the goal felt like a dagger to the heart of his team’s title chances, so clearcut was the opportunity. He had a huge gap between keeper and defender to simply pass the ball into the net, but put it wide. More subs were made – Tomiyasu replaced White and Vieira came on for Xhaka. Emile Smith Rowe returned to the bench for this one and a bit of me thought he might have greater influence than Vieira, but with the amount of space to play in as the two teams tired, an effective pass could decide things, and the number 21 can certainly play those. 

 

As the away side chased the win, Villa almost won it themselves when Leon Bailey’s strike was deflected onto the crossbar by Ramsdale’s hand. The margins in this game were a lot thinner than the final scoreline suggests. Villa – especially Arsenal old boy Emi Martinez – wasted plenty of time, which at least meant there were six minutes of injury time to try and find a winning goal. It came in dramatic fashion as Jorginho – ably deputising for Thomas Partey – struck the ball from just outside the area, hitting the crossbar. The rebound hit the diving Martinez on the back of the head as it came out and returned over the goal-line to produce an unlikely and slightly fortuitous, albeit deserved winner. 

 

Arteta brought on Holding and Tierney for Odegaard and Zinchenko to shore things up for the couple of minutes that remained and a late Villa corner saw Martinez join his colleagues to see if they could grab an equalizer. It was headed clear by Gabriel, collected by Vieira, who set Martinelli goalwards with a sweet pass, and just fresh air between the Brazilian forward and the Villa goal. He ran it into the net and that was that. 4-2. Arsenal went three points clear of Manchester City, having played the same number of matches. 

 

The cherry on the cake was City’s subsequent draw at Nottingham Forest in spite of dominating the match. People talk about twists and turns in the title race and there have been enough of those in the last 15 days. And with the Premier League having become what it has – today’s results elsewhere give you some idea – you can’t imagine there won’t be more to come and that nothing can be guaranteed. 

 

Critically though, after taking one point out of nine, Arsenal are back to winning ways. And perhaps as much as anything, the manner of this victory will provide them with a huge boost. If it had been a more straightforward win, it would have been less of a boost of character and belief in the team’s ability to overcome adversity. They dug themselves into a hole and then managed to get out of it, without Thomas Partey being on the pitch. 

 

Bukayo Saka was kicked a bit and at one point you feared he might have to be subbed, but his importance to the team was obvious and as long as he stays fit, Arsenal have a chance of winning any game. Odegaard may have missed that sitter, but aside from that he was heavily involved and constantly moving the ball on, a key element in his side’s game. Jorginho is a different type of midfielder to Partey – getting closer to the ball and seemingly more involved. I’d say his colleagues are still adapting to him, but one thing’s surely beyond debate – his ability to influence matches is streets ahead of Elneny and Lokonga. And knowing the danger of Partey missing games, his signing might prove to be highly significant. Time will tell.

 

Arsenal have 15 Premier League matches left. Eight at home and seven away. They have to get momentum going again and make today the start of a winning run, and put points on the board. Leicester, Everton, Bournemouth, Fulham, Palace and Leeds are the opposition before a visit to Anfield. One game at a time, Arteta’s players need to try and pick off these teams – some of whom will play like Everton and Brentford. They key to what lies ahead is the continued fitness of the key players, remaining calm and the return to first team football of Gabriel Jesus. 

 

However, the most important return has already been made – that of belief. Failure to win today – even taking account Man City’s later draw – would have felt like one blow too many. Two points out of 12, can’t win a game. Now the feeling is good and the players have a week off until the visit to Leicester next Saturday.

 

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