BIRMINGHAM, England — There aren't many obvious areas Arsenal can improve on from last season, but beating Aston Villa is one of them.
The Gunners collected 89 points last season, finishing second behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race, but lost both games to Villa, with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta lamenting his side's poor finishing in each defeat.
Nothing could be more effective than scoring with the first touch, and that is precisely what Leandro Trossard did in the 67th minute on Saturday, setting Arsenal on course for a 2-0 win. While it is early days, it will feel like significant progress in their quest for marginal improvements over the course of this campaign.
“The two previous performances [against Aston Villa] “On paper, you have to win comfortably and we didn't do that, so something was missing; today we did it,” Arteta said.
Trossard started on the bench but replaced Gabriel Martinelli in the 65th minute, moments before scoring the decisive goal.
“When you're not picked, there are certain ways to react,” Arteta said. “Leo is upset, but he's upset to show on the pitch how good he is, not upset, and then he comes on and because I wasn't playing at the time, he's like that. That's a great quality. When you put him in the starting XI, he does exactly the same. That's a great message and a great example for the rest of the team and for me.”
Trossard's right-footed finish after the ball fell to him in the area when Kai Havertz brought down Morgan Rogers following a Bukayo Saka pass was in stark contrast to Villa striker Ollie Watkins' night. The 28-year-old did not play a single minute in pre-season after featuring in England's run to the Euro 2024 final and it showed.
Twenty-five minutes into a cagey game (the only real highlight being Emiliano Martinez's fine save to deny Saka an early goal), Leon Bailey brought down Gabriel Magalhães on the edge of the Arsenal box, Rogers played the ball to Watkins and suddenly Villa had a glorious chance to take the lead. Watkins, unmarked ten yards out, sent his shot wide.
Nine minutes into the second half, Watkins missed again. Amadou Onana’s shot deflected off Gabriel and hit the bar, and Watkins was the first to react. Four yards from goal and with an open goal, Watkins could only direct his diving header towards goalkeeper David Raya’s area. However, Raya recovered spectacularly to get to his feet and dive to his left to push Watkins’ shot away with a strong hand.
“When we had to rely on some individual players, we did, like in the David situation – it was an incredible save,” Arteta said. “When we made the changes, the impact was tremendous. When the team starts to be equipped like that and starts to be able to navigate different contexts in the game, it becomes a team that can win anywhere. We showed that today.”
Meanwhile, Trossard occupies a curious position in that he is not a regular starter but is probably the best finisher Arteta has at his disposal. That is just one of the reasons why the clamour for the Gunners to sign another attacking player before the transfer window closes has continued to grow.
But this was another occasion that will likely convince Arteta to take advantage of the options he has unless a top target (Nico Williams at Athletic Bilbao is of particular interest) becomes available in the final week.
However, the super-sub role is one in which Trossard appears to thrive. Six of the Belgian's 14 league goals for Arsenal have come from the bench, the highest percentage (43%) of any player at the club in the Premier League.
Thomas Partey scored the second, helped by some delicate handling from Martinez, and while Villa were left to rue their chances, Arsenal were able to celebrate an important victory.
It was tempting to ask whether, if efficiency cost Arsenal against Villa last season, as Arteta suggested beforehand (they had a higher xG, or expected goals, in both games but failed to score over 180 minutes), then was their improved efficiency the difference on Saturday?
“One hundred percent,” Arteta replied. “Last year we created more, obviously because of the context of the game in which they scored first.”
“Today they did something a little bit different than we expected, especially in the first phase of our preparation and the way they conducted themselves. This is what we have to do against any formation, against any opponent, we are finding ways to be a threat from many areas. That is a great compliment to the team.”
More tough tests lie ahead. Brighton, fresh from beating Manchester United, host Tottenham and City away next weekend, so Arsenal's ability to stay on track on the road faces a stern test.
But they can point to a clear sign of progress by beating Villa, and that is a welcome boost after just two games of a campaign in which they believe breaking the 90-point barrier is essential to beating City and claiming the title.
