LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 31: Albert Sambi Lokonga of Arsenal marks Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium on August 31, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Midfielders
Xhaka (CM) 7/10 – Another good performance from the Swiss alongside Lokonga. He kept his team ticking over well and dominated the midfield in the first half. Developing into quite the player now.
Lokonga (CM) 8/10 – Perhaps his best performance in an Arsenal shirt. Lokonga was superb in the middle of the park. He was excellent in possession and kept his team going forward nicely. Will fill him with a lot of confidence from this performance.
Odegaard (CAM) 8/10 – Another excellent performance from the Gunners skipper. He controlled the midfield well and was central to most things his team did well. He was replaced with just nine minutes remaining.
Continued on next slide…
#ARSAVL</a> <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/08/31/arsenal-2-1-aston-villa-player-ratings-as-gunners-remain-undefeated/2/"https://t.co/CojFmLvZuR">pic.twitter.com/CojFmLvZuR
<p>— Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/08/31/arsenal-2-1-aston-villa-player-ratings-as-gunners-remain-undefeated/2/"https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1565072820694138886?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>August 31, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Arsenal’s dominance continued in the second half as they pressed for a second goal that would kill off the game, but Villa offered a lot more going forward as the threat was there from the visitors.</p>
<p>Villa got their reward out of nothing. A corner from Doulas Luiz somehow made it all the way into the Arsenal goal, and the visitors were level.</p>
<p>Arsenal was ahead just seconds later. After good work from Saka, Gabriel Martinelli was found by the Englishman, and his shot found its way past Martinez, who will feel he should have done a lot better.</p>
<p>Arsenal managed to see out the remaining minutes to continue its undefeated start to the season.</p>
<p>Player ratings from the win over Aston Villa.</p>
<h2>Goalkeeper and defenders</h2>
<p><strong>Ramsdale (GK) 6/10</strong> – Barely had anything to do all night aside from picking the ball out of his net. Could feel a little hard done by with Villa’s goal, but overall, another solid outing.</p>
<p><strong>White (RB) 7/10</strong> – Another superb display from White. He didn’t put a foot wrong all night as he was defensively sound and was consistently overlapping down his flank. Sensational.</p>
<p><strong>Saliba (CB) 7/10</strong> – Another assured performance from Saliba. Again, he didn’t put a foot wrong and dealt with everything Villa had. What a player.</p>
<p><strong>Gabriel (CB) 7/10</strong> – Similar to Saliba, Gabriel had a good night. He was commanding and covered well when called upon—developing a good understanding with Saliba.</p>
<p><strong>Tierney (LB) 6/10</strong> – A serviceable performance from the Scottish left back. He got forward well and defended even better. Just good to see him on the pitch again.</p>
<p><em>Continued on next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/08/31/arsenal-2-1-aston-villa-player-ratings-as-gunners-remain-undefeated/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Midfielders </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-129017 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/08/31/arsenal-2-1-aston-villa-player-ratings-as-gunners-remain-undefeated/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1419668818.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1419668818.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1419668818-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 31: Albert Sambi Lokonga of Arsenal marks Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium on August 31, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Midfielders</h2>
<p><strong>Xhaka (CM) 7/10</strong> – Another good performance from the Swiss alongside Lokonga. He kept his team ticking over well and dominated the midfield in the first half. Developing into quite the player now.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lokonga making a statement.</p>
<p>— GoonerViews (@GoonerViews) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/08/31/arsenal-2-1-aston-villa-player-ratings-as-gunners-remain-undefeated/2/"https://twitter.com/GoonerViews/status/1565056873618890753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>August 31, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/08/31/arsenal-2-1-aston-villa-player-ratings-as-gunners-remain-undefeated/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p><strong>Lokonga (CM) 8/10</strong> – Perhaps his best performance in an Arsenal shirt. Lokonga was superb in the middle of the park. He was excellent in possession and kept his team going forward nicely. <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/08/31/arsenal-2-1-aston-villa-player-ratings-as-gunners-remain-undefeated/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/08/31/sambi-lokonga-get-chance-aston-villa/">Will fill him with a lot of confidence from this performance.</a></p>
<p><strong>Odegaard (CAM) 8/10</strong> – Another excellent performance from the Gunners skipper. He controlled the midfield well and was central to most things his team did well. He was replaced with just nine minutes remaining.</p>
<p><em>Continued on next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/08/31/arsenal-2-1-aston-villa-player-ratings-as-gunners-remain-undefeated/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Forwards </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-129018 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/08/31/arsenal-2-1-aston-villa-player-ratings-as-gunners-remain-undefeated/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1419670032.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1419670032.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1419670032-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 31: Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal celebrates scoring their side’s first goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium on August 31, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Forwards</h2>
<p><strong>Saka (RW) 7/10</strong>– The winger was extremely lively in the first half. He could consider himself unlucky not to have bagged at least two goals—an excellent performance from our star boy.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Official: Gabriel Jesus has been awarded Man of the Match for his performance vs. Aston Villa tonight. [BT] <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/08/31/arsenal-2-1-aston-villa-player-ratings-as-gunners-remain-undefeated/2/"https://twitter.com/hashtag/afc?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>#afc</a> <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/08/31/arsenal-2-1-aston-villa-player-ratings-as-gunners-remain-undefeated/2/"https://t.co/LSJYTSARpn">pic.twitter.com/LSJYTSARpn
<p>— afcstuff (@afcstuff) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/08/31/arsenal-2-1-aston-villa-player-ratings-as-gunners-remain-undefeated/2/"https://twitter.com/afcstuff/status/1565072331499868161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>August 31, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><strong>Martinelli (LW) 8/10</strong> – A constant menace all night with his energy and commitment to the press. He got rewarded with a well-taken goal to give his team the lead.</p>
<p><strong>Jesus (ST) 9/10</strong> – Another superb display from our number nine. He was in everything and covered every blade of grass—a well-taken goal as well as his reward.</p>
<p><em>Continued on next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/08/31/arsenal-2-1-aston-villa-player-ratings-as-gunners-remain-undefeated/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Substitutes </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-129019 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/08/31/arsenal-2-1-aston-villa-player-ratings-as-gunners-remain-undefeated/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2179,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1242845970.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2179" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1242845970.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1242845970-768x523.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Arsenal’s English striker Eddie Nketiah (L) vies with Aston Villa’s English defender Tyrone Mings during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium in London on August 31, 2022. – – RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Substitutes</h2>
<p><strong>Tomiyasu (5/10)</strong> – Came on for White in the second half and provided a more attacking threat.</p>
<p><strong>Smith Rowe (5/10)</strong> – He got on the ball numerous times and kept the team moving along.</p>
<p><strong>Holding (5/10)</strong> – Another defensive masterclass from the defender as he was brought on to see out the game.</p>
<p><strong>Nketiah (6/10)</strong> – A bundle of energy when he came on and gave Arsenal another outlet as they looked to see out the remaining minutes.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
