21st July 2020
By Adam Holt
Aston Villa 1 (Trezeguet 27')
Arsenal 0
First the teams...
Aston Villa:
29 - Reina (GK)
27 - Elmohamady
15 - Konsa
40 - Mings
18 - Targett
7 - McGinn
6 - Douglas Luiz
14 - Hourihane
17 - Trezeguet
20 - Samatta
10 - Grealish
Subs: Lansbury, Nakamba, El Ghazi, Jota, Guilbert, Nyland (GK), Hause, Vassilev & Davis.
Arsenal:
27 - Martinez (GK)
16 - Holding
23 - David Luiz
31 - Kolasinac
17 - Cedric
8 - Ceballos
11 - Torreira
77 - Saka
30 - Nketiah
9 - Lacazette
14 - Aubameyang (C)
Subs: Bellerin, Tierney, Sokratis, Maitland-Niles, Pepe, Willock, Macey (GK), Xhaka, Smith.
Well, that was a MASSIVE result for the Villa! Following Watford's 4-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City at Vicarage Road just before the match. So Villa knew that in order to take full advantage of Watford's defeat, which brought them level with Villa and Bournemouth on goal difference, Villa had to beat Arsenal at Villa Park to take them outside of the relegation zone and into 17th on goal difference.
It was not the smoothest of starts to the game for the Villans, with Elmohamady picking up a hamstring injury, forcing him to be taken off the pitch in the 25th minute, with Guilbert coming on in his place. After a fairly even start to the first half, with Arsenal starting to come into the game, Villa got a corner that was taken by Hourihane that glanced off the head of Villa centre-back Tyrone Mings and deflected to the feet of Trezeguet, with the Egyptian scoring a fierce and wonderful volley into the back of the net with Martinez having no chance of saving the rasping effort which flew past him at some pace to give the Villans a precious lead over the Gunners. 1-0 Villa.
After the drinks break, the game remained balance, if at a slightly faster pace, with Grealish almost curling his shot into the top corner from the edge of the Arsenal penalty area which, unfortunately for Villa sailed past Martinez's far post with the Arsenal goalkeeper not needing to move an inch.
Half time came and gone with Villa still holding a precious advantage. The game took on a faster pace with much more intensity than was seen from both teams in the first half, but the Gunners were still unable to produce a shot on target, showing how much Villa's defence has improved since the Premier League's restart. At around the half way point through the second half, Villa captain Jack Grealish relieved some of the pressure on his teammates by embarking on a mazy run taking on - and beating - three Arsenal players before putting a delightful through ball to Keinan Davis, who himself went on a run to goal, but only managing to drag his shot (just) wide of the Arsenal far post leaving Martinez and his defenders mightily relieved. This was potentially a fatal moment for Villa, as this may have cost them the three points with Villa conceding so many goals this season, particularly in the late moments of a game. This trend seemingly came to pass when a cross came into the Arsenal penalty area leading to a header from Eddie Nketiah, with the Arsenal man unlucky to see his shot come back off the inside of the post and into the grateful gloves of Pepe Reina who hung onto the ball. This was a lucky escape for Villa, as Villa have conceded so often this campaign,
John McGinn had Villa's next best chance to double their lead, but his powerful shot was palmed away by Emiliano Martinez, with the Argentine relieved to take pressure off his team. It was such a tense game throughout, but particularly in the last twenty minutes or so with crosses constantly being made by Arsenal which were either claimed by Reina or cleared by the Villa back line. The game was tense right until the final whistle with the final Arsenal cross of the evening ending up in the clutches of Pepe Reina, with the Spaniard hanging on to the ball and Villa secured an invaluable three points to take them outside the bottom three into seventeenth, the first time Villa have been outside the bottom three since the end of February.
Arsenal failed to get a shot on target, which despite the Gunners being far from at it on the night, is still quite an achievement considering the Gunners had Aubameyang and Lacazette at their disposal.
It was not the smoothest of starts to the game for the Villans, with Elmohamady picking up a hamstring injury, forcing him to be taken off the pitch in the 25th minute, with Guilbert coming on in his place. After a fairly even start to the first half, with Arsenal starting to come into the game, Villa got a corner that was taken by Hourihane that glanced off the head of Villa centre-back Tyrone Mings and deflected to the feet of Trezeguet, with the Egyptian scoring a fierce and wonderful volley into the back of the net with Martinez having no chance of saving the rasping effort which flew past him at some pace to give the Villans a precious lead over the Gunners. 1-0 Villa.
After the drinks break, the game remained balance, if at a slightly faster pace, with Grealish almost curling his shot into the top corner from the edge of the Arsenal penalty area which, unfortunately for Villa sailed past Martinez's far post with the Arsenal goalkeeper not needing to move an inch.
Half time came and gone with Villa still holding a precious advantage. The game took on a faster pace with much more intensity than was seen from both teams in the first half, but the Gunners were still unable to produce a shot on target, showing how much Villa's defence has improved since the Premier League's restart. At around the half way point through the second half, Villa captain Jack Grealish relieved some of the pressure on his teammates by embarking on a mazy run taking on - and beating - three Arsenal players before putting a delightful through ball to Keinan Davis, who himself went on a run to goal, but only managing to drag his shot (just) wide of the Arsenal far post leaving Martinez and his defenders mightily relieved. This was potentially a fatal moment for Villa, as this may have cost them the three points with Villa conceding so many goals this season, particularly in the late moments of a game. This trend seemingly came to pass when a cross came into the Arsenal penalty area leading to a header from Eddie Nketiah, with the Arsenal man unlucky to see his shot come back off the inside of the post and into the grateful gloves of Pepe Reina who hung onto the ball. This was a lucky escape for Villa, as Villa have conceded so often this campaign,
John McGinn had Villa's next best chance to double their lead, but his powerful shot was palmed away by Emiliano Martinez, with the Argentine relieved to take pressure off his team. It was such a tense game throughout, but particularly in the last twenty minutes or so with crosses constantly being made by Arsenal which were either claimed by Reina or cleared by the Villa back line. The game was tense right until the final whistle with the final Arsenal cross of the evening ending up in the clutches of Pepe Reina, with the Spaniard hanging on to the ball and Villa secured an invaluable three points to take them outside the bottom three into seventeenth, the first time Villa have been outside the bottom three since the end of February.
Arsenal failed to get a shot on target, which despite the Gunners being far from at it on the night, is still quite an achievement considering the Gunners had Aubameyang and Lacazette at their disposal.
Man of the Match: The whole Aston Villa team - they all perfomed admirably, working as a team, showing fight, grit and passion to eventually go on to secure a vital three points. The whole team deserve the man of the match award tonight after a calm, solid and clinical performance from the Villans.
One last thing...
This was undoubtedly an amazing win and three points for Aston Villa to put their Premier League fate in their own hands. The Villa players MUST focus on the final game of the season on Sunday, with Watford facing Arsenal at the Emirates and Bournemouth facing a tough test away at Goodison Park against Everton, with the Toffees and the Gunners hoping to end the Premier League season on a high. It will be tense - if Villa win, Watford will have to beat Arsenal by two more goals than their fellow relegation rivals to survive. The Premier League fates of all three clubs rests on the final day of the Premier League on Sunday.