Arsenal battled to three points over Aston Villa courtesy of Bukayo Saka's second-half strike but questions persist over their need for more firepower
Bukayo Saka's strike was enough to earn Arsenal the win
Bukayo Saka's strike was enough to earn Arsenal the win
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It was not pretty but it still felt like a big win for Arsenal. Bukayo Saka got the second half winner as the champions were really made to work hard for their win at Villa Park.
But this is never an easy place and it did raise question marks for Arsenal as to whether they still need a bit of extra quality and X Factor before the transfer window shuts on Tuesday.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has spent £164m this summer on Bruno Guimaraes, Christos Tzolis and Ezri Konsa - who came on to a mixed reception against his old club - but they still do not seem to have solved the most glaring issue of all. They lack a top quality left winger, a bit of spark and magic to match the endeavour and battling qualities which they showed in abundance against Aston Villa.
Villa is a work in progress on and off the pitch. The North Stand is closed for redevelopment while they increase the capacity inside Villa Park to 50,000 for Euro 2028.
Emery’s annual summer rebuild on the pitch has seen major departures - including Ezri Konsa who joined Arsenal plus the likes of Youri Tielemans, Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers and Lucas Digne - while new arrivals Nicolas Jackson and Zion Suzuki were given their debuts.
Villa looked a shambles when they were thrashed 4-0 at Brighton on the opening weekend but Emery is used to working miracles and the stadium was pumped for the first home game of the season. It was Villa who went close early on. Emiliano Buendia crashed a shot against the crossbar from 20 yards while Arsenal’s players were busy appealing for a foul which was not given.
Last year, it was Buendia who scored the injury time winner for Villa against Arsenal in this fixture which left the visiting players crushed. The Argentina forward was clearly in the mood again.
Mikel Arteta has been eyeing a striker all summer
Mikel Arteta has been eyeing a striker all summer
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Arsenal went back to their tried and trusted formula of set-pieces. Riccardo Calafiori saw a near post header brilliantly saved by Villa keeper Suzuki but referee Jarred Gillett had already blown for a foul with Gabriel all over John McGinn at the back post.
The new purge on penalty box grappling is certainly not going to help Arsenal. Arsenal were certainly not producing the free-flowing football of their first game of the season against Coventry.
Christos Tzolis was booked for a pull-back on Matty Cash. The Arsenal winger then had an escape after he did the same to McGinn to stop a break but referee Gillett played an advantage and let it go.
You can understand why Arsenal fans are concerned that selling Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli might leave them short on the left wing. They were certainly lacking a spark but that was all over the pitch.
Unai Emery's side remain without a win, without a goal and without a shot on target this season
Unai Emery's side remain without a win, without a goal and without a shot on target this season
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It was no surprise when Tzolis was subbed at half time for Eberechi Eze. The great irony was that last season Eze was hooked at half time at Villa Park after a poor 45 minutes. Now, Eze was answering the SOS. It is obvious Arsenal have not solved the left-sided problem.
Arsenal thought they had a breakthrough when Ian Maatsen bundled into Bukayo Saka and referee Gillett gave a penalty. But VAS ruled it was outside the box and a free kick was given instead. Martin Odegaard’s effort hit the side netting.
But the visitors eventually got their breakthrough after 59 minutes. Cristian Mosquera got the move going, Eze played in Calafiori and his clever pull back found Saka in the box and he forced home from close range.
Eze made a huge difference and that was also Saka’s second goal of the season. It was certainly not pretty but they really had to dig deep.
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