Aston Villa 0-2 Arsenal: Player ratings as Gunners snatch nervy win

Arsenal battled to a hard-fought 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday thanks to goals from Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey.

The Gunners were rarely comfortable and watched on as Ollie Watkins missed two glorious opportunities, skewing the first before being denied by a David Raya wondersave, before substitute Trossard netted with his first touch.

Partey managed to squeeze a low effort through Emiliano Martinez late on, leading Arsenal to a huge three points.

How the game unfolded

A handful of injuries threatened to disrupt what was an intriguing tempo to the opening stages. Bukayo Saka had the game's first real chance 15 minutes in, cutting inside and striking down low to draw an impressive save from Martinez.

Watkins should have put Villa ahead ten minutes later. Leon Bailey caught Gabriel on the ball and possession eventually landed at the feet of the Villa striker, who dragged wide from close range when it looked easier to score.

Thomas Partey blazed over from range on the half-hour mark, before Kai Havertz's dangerous cut-back was well blocked by a retreating Bailey. At the other end, Morgan Rogers saw a low cross well handled by David Raya, who had to be alert to keep out an attempted chip from Bailey.

The Watkins chance was undoubtedly the best of a first half in which clear-cut sights of goal were at a premium. Arsenal managed nearly 70% possession but it was Villa who ended the half on top.

Nine minutes into the second half, Villa seemed destined to score. Amadou Onana's strike was deflected on to the bar as Raya was left helpless, but the Gunners goalkeeper somehow got back to his feet and pulled off a sublime point-blank save from Watkins.

With his first touch of the ball, substitute Trossard put Arsenal ahead in the 67th minute. The Belgian found some space in the box as Saka's cut-back ricocheted into his path, and he made no mistake with a first-time effort.

Ten minutes later, Arsenal doubled their advantage. Partey's strike from range appeared to wrong-foot Martinez, who failed to deal with what felt like a routine effort as he palmed it into the back of the net.

Martin Odegaard blazed over almost immediately after, before William Saliba made a sensational last-ditch challenge to deny Jacob Ramsey and ensure Villa could not get anything from this game.

Aston Villa player ratings (4-4-1-1)

GK: Emiliano Martinez - 5/10 - Should have done better with Partey's strike.

RB: Matty Cash - N/A - Pulled up early on and had to be replaced.

CB: Ezri Konsa - 6/10 - Held his own well against Havertz and looked good with the ball at his feet.

CB: Pau Torres - 6/10 - Alert to any danger around him. Limited the space available to Arsenal in central areas.

LB: Lucas Digne - 7/10 - Clearly focused on his positioning to stop Saka from getting the chance to run at him. A disciplined showing.

RM: Leon Bailey - 7/10 - Put in an immense shift at both ends of the pitch and was at the heart of most of Villa's best moments.

CM: Amadou Onana - 7/10 - Enjoyed his physical battle with Rice. Fortunate to avoid a yellow card late in the first half.

CM: Youri Tielemans - 7/10 - A really impressive technical performance from Tielemans. Pulled the strings in midfield and led by examples.

LM: John McGinn - 6/10 - Had a role to play and did it well. His energy and discipline were key to Villa's defensive setup.

AM: Morgan Rogers - 8/10 - A massive influence on this game. Dropped deep and drove incredibly well with the ball.

ST: Ollie Watkins - 5/10 - No idea how he didn't score here. Fluffed his lines for the first before being denied by a worldie save after the break.

Substitutes

SUB: Kosta Nedeljkovic (16' for Cash) - 7/10

SUB: Jhon Duran (65' for Watkins) - 6/10

SUB: Jacob Ramsey (65' for McGinn) - 6/10

SUB: Ross Barkley (76' for Onana) - 6/10

SUB: Ian Maatsen (76' for Digne) - 6/10

Subs not used: Joe Gauci (GK), Diego Carlos, Emiliano Buendia, Jaden Philogene

Manager

Unai Emery - 7/10 - This scoreline does not reflect how this match panned out. Villa were excellent and could have easily scored three or four before Trossard's opener.

Arsenal player ratings (4-3-3)

GK: David Raya - 7/10 - Composed whenever he was called into action. An outrageous save to deny Watkins after the break.

RB: Ben White - 6/10 - Saw plenty of the ball and played some sensible passes. Played almost in a back three, meaning he did not have the freedom to get forward as much.

CB: William Saliba - 8/10 - Incredibly busy throughout. Regularly found himself in the way of Villa's passes and played some smart ones of his own. A great challenge on Ramsey late on.

CB: Gabriel - 5/10 - Looked uncomfortable. Caught in possession ahead of Watkins' shock miss and was lucky to be bailed out.

LB: Jurrien Timber - 6/10 - Spent most of his time in midfield, offering a solid base to Arsenal's attacks.

DM: Thomas Partey - 7/10 - Seemed to tire early on but remained strong to fire home Arsenal's second.

CM: Martin Odegaard - 7/10 - The heart of Arsenal's attacks, Odegaard made a handful of excellent flicks to keep his side going forwards.

CM: Declan Rice - 7/10 - Struggled to keep up with Rogers at times but flexed his quality more as the clock ticked on. Some excellent runs from deep.

RW: Bukayo Saka - 7/10 - Found it hard to get involved early on but made the difference in the end. His cut-back led to Trossard's opener, before a short pass to Partey bagged him an assist.

ST: Kai Havertz - 5/10 - The occasional nice flick but offered very little as a spearhead of the attack. Dropped deep to try and help.

LW: Gabriel Martinelli - 5/10 - Saw plenty of the ball but failed to really do much with it. Another frustrating showing.

Substitutes

SUB: Leandro Trossard (65' for Martinelli) - 7/10

SUB: Riccardo Calafiori (80' for Timber) - N/A

SUB: Reiss Nelson (88' for Saka) -N/A

Subs not used: Aaron Ramsdale (GK), Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ethan Nwaneri, Jorginho, Eddie Nketiah

Manager

Mikel Arteta - 7/10 - Arsenal were not at their best here, but Arteta recognised the need to change things on the left side and reaped the rewards in just a matter of seconds.

Player of the match - William Saliba (Arsenal)

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