Arsenal’s made it five wins from five in the Premier League as goals from Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli gave us a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
The Gunners were dominant in the first half, but only had the one goal lead at the break after Jesus pounced on a fumble by former Arsenal man Emi Martinez. The visitors scored direct from a corner, but there were suspicions of a foul on Aaron Ramsdale, but the lead only lasted a couple of minutes before Martinelli turned home a Bukayo Saka cross to take all three points.
Lovely stuff. The ref was a twat. And we won. Onto Sunday.
Here’s how the players rated this afternoon.
Read the Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa report and see the goals here
Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa – Player Ratings
The ratings are hidden by default until you vote, but if you just want to view the ratings and the comments, flick the switch at the top above Aaron Ramsdale. Also, please give the ratings a few seconds to load.
10/10 too much celebrating
11/10 for the fireworks celebration
Gotta score it less…. where was the marching band??
10/10 Nketiah’s cameo. My world, he has improved a lot! Hold up play was impeccable.
10/10 for the Saliba text. Nice one Blogs 💪
it was only Aston Villa
10/10 for Jesus developing the ability to grab people’s arms with his neck
10/10 for the inevitable media silence on Liverpools over celebrations for beating “just Newcastle” in the 135th minute of injury time
That really was disgraceful, even more so with the Liverpool fans all claiming it was justice for timewasting, what utter crap. Can’t wait til we play at Anfield and Xhaka is sent over for turning up!
At this stage what can’t he do
No man! He was simply ‘turning the other cheek’ and got caught in Emi’s beloved embrace…
Did anyone else notice that Richard keys has been silent on the entirety of Liverpool losing their shit after beating Newcastle. Klopp ran around the entire stadium pumping his fist and screaming….
I thought he made himself clear that he really really despises Arteta
Nigel de Jong probably had to count to 1,000 so he didn’t lump him on live TV
I didn’t know he had that many fingers.
Sambi looked good. Let’s hope he kicks on from this.
Sambi looked decent lets not get carried away. I don’t want to bring th mood down but there were situations Arteta wasn’t pleased with his positioning off the ball and how casual he looked in certain situations. also he got bumped off the ball too easily for a cdm but I like what he did on the ball kept it simple and ticking so credit to him. But we still need another midfielder and more importantly we need Partey back asap.
He looked far more than decent.
Glad someone pointed this out. He had a good game overall, but watch the buildup prior to the corner that led to Villa’s goal. We lost the ball in midfield and Sambi is just casually running back allowing Ramsey to run past him. Tierney on the other hand was sprinting to get back into position but still ended up in a 2-v-1 against Bailey, who then shot to get the corner. Sambi really should’ve stopped Ramsey before anything else built up. The urgency to get back into shape was clearly lacking from Sambi, especially when put in contrast to Tierney.
He would do well in an 8 is the point I’m really getting to. As a 6? Still risky. And this was against a poor Villa side. We really need to get somebody in on the CDM side.
It was his first start in ages without many minutes till this match. As blogs pointed, he was more of tired than lazy. Match fitness will come good in a few weeks. I found him really good with the ball, pinging balls and passes with movement, signs are good.
Fair enough. But this is exactly why I love Mo, never makes a fuss about lacking game time, yet 9 times out of 10 he will do a quiet and decent job when called upon. He plays it safe in contrast to Partey, but he’s really tidy in the tackles and keeping the ball moving. Really can’t ask for more from a second choice.
I noticed this from the beginning of the game. Out of possession Sambi jogs at a different speed than the rest of the team, it conveyed a lack of urgency or intensity. This continued for the entire first half. He was better in the second half. On the ball, he was superb, better range of passing than Elneny, gets the ball safely to the wings, through balls attempted and keeps the ball moving to the players we want attacking the goal. Solid performance but he has work to do off the ball. Also needs some confidence and that Eddie hungry… Read more »
Totally agree. I’m a big Sambi fan, and think with more game time he could become a very useful player indeed, but yesterday showed quite how good Partey is at just being in the right place at the right time to intercept. Sambi seemed to always be 10 yards away from Villa’s counterattack. Had a good game bit he can’t (yet) do Partey’s job.
In fairness, Albert needs to take to steps to every one of Partey’s bionic ambles!
Agree wholehearted, glad he’s here and I think he will play a big part in a future Arsenal
10/10 for defeating Emi Martinez once again. He’s been a bit of a tw*t since he joined Villa so good to get one over him.
What the hell was he doing when he committed a foul and then fell over himself? Hilarious.
How does he not get booked by VAR?
And then he had the audacity to complain to the ref that Jesus fouled him.
For that, I have lost all respect for Martinez
He got inside his own head with how much he seems to hate us, very strange. Made it all the more beautiful
have i missed something regarding martinez? i don’t get why all the whistling and all that. he said he still loves arsenal and watches all the games, but wanted to step up his career by being first choice in another club. what’s wrong with it? surely i’ve missed other comments by him?
Not sure if it was the only reason, but I think the whistling was also for blatant timewasting from the first minute. After you pick up the ball, you have to release it after 8 seconds as per rule, he held it mostly for about 20 seconds. Goal kicks took ages too.
In case you wanna know already why there will be whistling in future games, you need to look no further than to the scene described by Fireman Sam above.
He really does act like a twat quite regularly. So, so glad he is not our player any more. He had a poor night too. Which was nice. (said in my best Fast Show voice)
I used to live next door to him and he’s always been a grade A cunt. And the schadenfreude of hearing tens of thousands of gooners mugging him off is hard to accurately convey
He did copy a fair bit of “you’re a shit Aaron Ramsdale”
Xhaka was amazing today. Really grown into the left 8 role. Always at the right spot whether defending or attacking
Totally agree, he was my man of the match.
Same
Disagree, it has to be Martinelli. Xhaka was top too
my MOTM too.. he won so many 50/50s today. Tackling hard but fair. Seems to have added much more control to his game and the ability to 2-touch-pass. Brilliant game
MOM for me, thought he played a brilliant dual role as left 8 and at times an extra 6 supporting Sambi.
He did every single thing today exactly the way he should have, perfect midfield display
Completely agree. Was superb today and this role suits him well.
Agreed. The amount of ricochet tackles he won kept us moving forward in the first half. Also slotted in at CB when Gabgabgab went on a jaunt upfield
Seems to read the game so much better higher up the field.
I know Arseblog doesn’t do re-watches but this game is worth it just for Xhaka’s performance. Absolutely everywhere at exactly the right time. Marshaled a young midfield. Colossal!
He was excellent. On the basis of expectations, Sambi was MOTM for me and objectively very, very good.
I was one of the leaders of the “can’t wait to see the back of him” contingent but he has been very, very impressive
I love him. I’m going to stick by him when he inevitably gets sent off in the 10th minute on Sunday.
If we do not run into to many crucial injuries we have a team of true contenders 💪
Against the team of “The Neanderthal” we stand no chance, in fact no one!
Great work, swift comeback. Loved it all. Sambi looked decent for a first start , Tierney better and a deserved win
0/10 for Emi punching (?) Jesus then inexplicably dropping to the floor like a marionette
Give him a break he and mcginn went to the buffet earlier this afternoon
Looked like a headlock, but otherwise you are right. Basically Jesus was blocking him a bit, then Martinez took him in a headlock, dragged him along for two meters and then fell to the ground like a dead tree. Then complained to the ref about … hmm, actually I haven’t figured that out yet. One of the more bizarre scenes I have seen in recent years.
McGinn is a guy you’d just love to see being sent off. Whinging about everything while hacking us non stop
He was brilliant in The Goonies mind you.
And the twat of a ref enabled him.
I told my brother after the first 5 Aston Villa fouls without a booking that he should watch… our first 2 fouls will draw card. And that’s exactly what happened.
How Kamara finished that game without a booking is ridiculous!
McGinn also has the most punchable face in football right now. The cheating twat
Other than Ings – how good was it to see Big Willie just quietly show that twunt the exit sign?!
Have to give Eddie props for making unselfish decisions to take the ball to the corner and slow down the game. The one shot over I think was an okay decision. I know there were other guys there but the defenders sort of parted, expecting a pass.
Yeah I feel like Eddy deserved to have a go.
yes this is where I feel he has improved he used to be less of a team player and when he doesn’t start he would sulk and come on and do absolutely nothing. No he is an asset than a liability when he comes on. I’m sure he’ll get his start soon and when he does I will be supporting him 100% long may it continue everyone working together for the good of the team is very important
10/10 for 5/5, let’s keep this fucking going you bunch of absolute lads!
It was certainly one of those games, that last season, we would have come away with nothing. The team is maturing which is great to see. Yes, we can point to individual moments where we could have done better and would have made the scoreline more comfortable but it’s 5 wins in 5 and I especially like the resilience in this team to score so quickly, and not for the first time, after conceding. Bit concerned about the injury to Odegaard, hopefully he’ll be ok for the weekend. Thought Sambi did reasonably well having not played much football, if a… Read more »
McGann should have been sent off.
Is it time for a VAR/Referee/officials rating?
It is 2 / 10 for me this time. -3 for missing a penalty after a blatant pull against Saka early in the game, -3 for VAR nor interfering regarding the blatant pull (just in case the ref didn’t see it as it could be seen on TV) and -2 for general inconsistency of decisions. As for the Ramsdale scene during the goal, for me it was ok. The Villa guy blocked him by standing in the way, I noticed that we also tried to block Martinez during most corners. I guess we do that because we expect that blocking… Read more »
0/10 McGinn’s stupid face
0/10 Clueless ref
10/10 5 out if 5 wins
I am loving this MY Arsenal over and over and over again. Incredible passion, dedication and commitment by all the players. Take a bow all of you. 10/10 for the players for quick response after the goal and the overall gritty performance to maintain our 100% start. 5/5; 15/15. I am getting spoiled now with winning. Martinez is a cheat. Had a great game and was the reason the scoreline was respectable for Aston Villa. But was he trying to deliberately get Jesus sent off? Bring on Man United. We are more than capable. Hope Odegaard is fine? I am… Read more »
Thought Sambi slotted in very well. Martinelli is a machine, his work rate is immense. His physicality brings so much to the team. Hope we can nurse any of those potential injuries for the Utd game
Sambi was fantastic in the first half but it felt like Villa were deliberately giving him a lot of space (if Stevie does have an actual game plan) and it will be different against a midfield that puts actual pressure on him. He also needs to activate his left foot, there were often passing options between the lines but he always aimed left to use his right foot.
No, the only “game plan” was to be physical and hope Watkins could do something in a one v one. Pretty clear Gerrard is over his head.
Wait! Watkins played? I make that 2 seasons in a row where his turned up to The Emirates dressed as The Invisible Man
Is it Just me or McGinn has a punchable face lol
I’ve never seen you so couldn’t possibly comment, but McGinn definitely had a face worthy of a jolly good slapping.
I thought Sambi was very good in the first half. That’s exactly what we need, fellahs to step up when others are missing. I can foresee Smith Rowe having a big role to play if we have an injury in the front 4. Onwards and upwards, what a time to be a gunner!
To all the racist cunts in d word boom boom
U can hate me, hate what I do boom boom
U can hate me all u want, But u never make me hate at all
and u will never make me hate my arsenal boom boom.
To the tune of “there are seven continent in the world”
Wtf has racism got to do with anything concerning this website, game or anything tonight. Cop on lad.
Errrm…. what?
I love Tierney but boy I think Zinchenko offers alot more for the way we set up. Tierney can’t drop into midfield like Zinchenko does, so with Tierney bombing up the left wing and Ben White sitting back to form a back 3 it makes our wings rather lopsided. Think Tierney is best when Tomiyasu is on rather than white.
Seems to help saka having tomiyasu at rb as well.
Yeah bringing in a good RB in Tomi last season definitely helped Saka flourish, won’t get that same level of support with White who is always quite stagnant with the ball further up the pitch, just looking to offload it. (No offence to white, he’s a class CB)
This will no doubt get more downvotes but I continue to be a little worried by White’s reverse and loose passing, at least in the early stages of games.
He definitely improved after the first half hour and I’m hoping it simply a case of settling into that role, but the now signature couple of sloppy passes and stopping and reversing, really need addressing.
I agree they both have their strengths and obviously Zinny would fit the Arteta style better due to his pep man city education but Tierney played well today but offers a different style which is welcome because we don’t want to be predictable and also different games offer different challenges and you need different players and tools to tackle them so I like Tierney the way he is and Zinny the way he is.
Depending on how odegaard is I wouldn’t mind seeing Tierney and zinchenko on Sunday. Sambi xhaka and zinchenko in midfield, Tierney and tomiyasu at full back.
I love football. I love arsenal. I love winning. I love you all. Go well everyone. Bring on Man Utd
Sambi was superb tonight, particularly in the first half.
It was a big game for him.
Those two brazilians up front are immense aren’t they? They just play with so much fervour and heart and now, even, seem to energize each other. Odegaard wasnt as strong as usual but now just hope it’s nothing serious. Thought Tierney did very well tonight as well. Btw. what’s with the harsh treatment of Martinez? Am I missing something?
I think he made some derogatory comments about the club after he left and generally acts like a twat (part of his game though)
Just in case anyone forgot how good Tommy is he decides to intercept a dangerous attack and make a seventy yard run to complete a one two. The beautiful bastard.
It feels good to be a Gooner right now. We dominated with our fourth (maybe even fifth after Zinchenko?) choice central midfielder. Well done Sambi for stepping in and looking good.
Another good team performance and I kept Jesus and Martinelli off captain on fantasy football to ensure they scored (fortunately I captained Haaland for the second time in a row 😉, which was the biggest no brainer of all time).
Given our start we look a very good bet for top four. It’s all about keeping up the momentum, retaining the desire and adding a little more ruthlessness.
The ref and VAR might as well not exist at this point. Mings picked Saka up and threw him and it was reviewed by VAR. American announcer said that Mings used his body well… WTF… I get they want the PL to be more physical but seriously. They can make a meme of the officiating and it’s the 5th game of the season. Like seriously find better referees.
The level is absolutely shocking. We have better officiating in our old-timers league.
Chris Sutton on BT said Saka “went down easily” while Mr Birmingham himself Gabby Agbonlahor said Saka “went looking for it”. Hulk Hogan would’ve been proud of that body slam!
Commentators said Saka needed to be “stronger”. Not sure how, he was picked up off his feet and thrown to the side.
Maybe he should “grow up” a bit whilst he’s at it.
My wife hates football but watched the first few minutes with me. Even she shouted at the TV at that incident.
Mind blowing decision.
My first ever time at the Emirates! My first time watching at the stadium since November 2001! Fucking immense. He didn’t have his best game, but Saka in particular looks so good in the flesh
Thought we were excellent to a man and the scoreline really flatters Villa. Love how aggressive we are off the ball now, that’s how it needs to be. Want to give a shout out to Lokonga, really stepped it up today. A lot of people were rightly concerned with our injuries at the 6 position, but he put in a masterclass and hardly put a foot wrong. More of that please!
I would argue our poor finishing was partly to blame, 22 shots, gotta start putting these teams away.
0/10 the referee giving corners that aren’t corners to the opposition in back to back games
I Thought Xhaka was head and shoulders above everyone today 🤷🏻♂️
Not really sure where a foul would’ve been for their goal. Pretty weak stuff from Ramsdale, imho.
have to say i agree
Totally agree. Their man stood his ground- it’s up to Ramsdale and our defenders to move him.
Watch the replay from the reverse angle – from the front it look like legit strength standing pressed up against Rambo.
But from the back, you clearly see his right arm curling in behind Rambo’s back to hold him in and prevent him getting loose to make any movement.
Xhaka surely deserves more than 7
Shows that the observer clearly wasn’t at The Emirates tonight.
So happy for Sambi. He took his opportunity really well. Kept things ticking in midfield. No mistakes!
Really like this guys Van Saliba
I thought Sambi was good I just wish he had that Guendouzi confidence about him..he seems to hide and not a to receive a pass in big occasions. Eveyrtime he got on the ball he quickly gave to Xhaka which is okay didn’t lose possession sloppily but I was he has more confidence like Partey is on the ball or like guendouzi was when he was at arsenal under Emery. I compare both because they’re about the same age playing in the same position. and Smabi was guendouzi replacement. But its clear guendouzi is the much better player I just… Read more »
Every time I see Gabriel & Saliba, I think “The Two Towers”. Gabriel had the most attempts on goal in the first half. Saliba’s calmness when we built from the back really helped Sambi grow into the game in the first half. Tomiyasu is technically flawless, his reading of the game is excellent – the simple layoff to Saka when he could’ve gone for goal himself – helped us win the game. And Kieran Tierney is on his way back. The defensive unit deserves so much credit for this hot start!
This writer is very childish with his silly observations.
Please upgrade.
Lol. A Sp*rs fans just slipped through the cracks. Crawl back yer hole
Genuinely would like to understand, same way I wanted to understand back then when it happened to Leno vs Brentford. How’s that not a foul ? Like what’s the argument behind it ?
10/10 for man of the match Martinelli for finding more fire. That’s twice now he’s found the net right after we conceded with his less dominant left foot this season! I love his character, I really do.
I don’t really understand why you’re mocking Emi Martinez like that ? The guy was a good arsenal player and didn’t want to stay to warm the bench when he has become a better player than Leno. And on top of that, he continues to give our players assist while being a Villa player haha
Jesus physically brushing Mings aside in the penalty box. That’s got to be worth 10 points.
It’s great to have a true breakaway threat up top late in games when we are up a goal to try and add to the lead whether it’s Jesus still in there or Eddie coming in for him.
I’m not sure why teams get to kick the crap out of our players and don’t get booked. If xhaka had committed those fouls he would have been sent off twice.
I hope Gerrard gets fired. His only tactic is to tell his players to foul as hard as they can.
He’s a putz.
Holding needs some entrance music. I vote for Hold On by Wilson Phillips
I take your point, but that song is horrible, just horrible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P5jV4lHHR0
@Billy YES
Bring on United, difficult one that. A lot of pride watching the team at the moment, I will just be happy to see the team play well on Sunday!
“We were holding on so we put Holding on” : 10/10 — :::)))