VICTORY AT VILLA PARK
A hard-fought victory
Trossard's impeccable masterclass cameo performance
Raya's acrobatic save
Like most Arsenal fans I was eager to see my team in action again. The win against Wolves last time out somewhat proved its business and no games this season. However, match game 2 fixture happened to be a different ball game entirely. Yeah right! our latest foes over the past two seasons, Aston Villa sought to hunt the Gunners once more in a blockbuster Saturday Epl fixture. For most rival fans this has to be a game capable of producing bants . An Arsenal loss will be sore for most gunners fans and relishing for most rival fans .
The Gunners failed to pick a point against the villains last season , the Unai Emery led team successfully achieved being an impediment in Arsenal's title race last season. The match at Villa Park will no doubt prove if Arsenal are ready to take the bull by the horn and face their fears or if they will succumb to defeat once more.
The first half no doubt was action packed as both teams came out to play but with maximum caution and concentration. Bukayo Saka managed to draw a brilliant save from Villa goalie Martinez. Not long after Olie Watkins missed a golden opportunity to put Villa ahead after he reaped from Gabriel's slip off from the ball., Gabriel no doubt is a brilliant defender but I've noticed sometimes he can be un-decisive which most times unfortunately leads to punishable mistake for him at the detriment of the team at large.
The second half started with with an explosive gameplay performance from Villa as they tested David Raya's agility and reflex at goal. A deflected shot from Onana hitting the crossbar presented Watkins with a perfect rebound in form of a header which drew a spectacular save from Raya. The save might as well go for a save of the season contender.
Arsenal on the other hand didn't for once remove their feet off the pedal as they painstakingly tried to break the Villa backline marshalled by Pau Torres and Konsa. The constant press by the Gunners eventually paid off when Leandro Trossard came off the bench to break the deadlock in the 67th minute. That happened to be his first touch of the game and he clinically finessed the ball into the net. Trossard no doubt has become a super sub in the hands of Arteta and the Spanish gaffer seems to know the right time to bring him on the field of play always. The gunners suudenly gathered momentum from the Trossard goal and it was pretty obvious they wanted more goals. That fact became evident when Thomas Partey out of nowhere fired a thunderbolt of a shot leaving Martinez with no choice than to concede the second goal of the match in the 71st minute. That goal by Partey will be the final straw that broke the carmel's back for Aston Villa. There was little or nothing they could do at this point.
Arsenal last season were known for their impressive away run, the away win against Villa might just be the begining of the sequel to last season's impressive away form. It's six points in the bag for the Gunnets, sitting third on the table. Next stop is a home game against in form Brighton Fc. hopefully the Gunners can grab the much coveted three points in this fixture. There's definitely no time for slacking , COYG!!!