please log in to view this image Venue: Villa Park Date: Saturday 19th March 2022 KO time: 12:30 GMT Overall Record Wins: 84 Losses: 69 Draws: 45 Last six meetings Arsenal 3-1 Aston Villa Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal Arsenal 0-3 Aston Villa Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal Arsenal 3-2 Aston Villa Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
Could be a tough game actually, Villa have been playing well. If we play like we did last night will be a comfortable win but if we drop off a bit this could be a banana skin.
I think we'll go into this game with the right attitude and I think the players will be desperate to win after losing last night. The attitude and commitment they showed against Liverpool was top notch. Thought we were the better team overall, but two mistakes against a side like that and they will (and did) punish you. Plus we need to take our chances when they come, we probably should have scored twice (Martinelli opening up the pool defence, and the backpass that Odergaard had saved) Villa will be a different type of game, but still a tough test. They've been scoring a lot of goals recently, so defensively we will need to be 100% switched on, but I don't think they have much of a plan B under Gerrard other than attack and they are definitely susceptible to the counter.
We've got a beast of a 7 game run now which includes four out of the next five games being away. Only Brighton at home looks anything The second one wasn't even a mistake. Ridiculously fortunate ricochet for Robertson giving him a free run into the box. Our run-in is rock hard though compared to Spurs who have loads of home games.
Yeah that second one was really back luck. Ramsdale should have done better for the first, but I ain't gonna slate him as he's been brilliant this season Fine margins, we didn't take our chances and they did theirs. Other than that I think we were the better team
Ramsdale and Martinelli out injured and with illness respectively. Not ideal timing. Our bench has no real game changers, either, apart from Pepe. Have to hope we find a way of grinding out the win.
That ain’t good news. Leno is decent cover though and Smith Rowe whilst a different player from Martinelli, still gives us good attacking options.
This really weirds me out.. when being pressed Cedric frequently (nearly always) plays the ball out for a corner... Even when there's more than enough time to put the ball out for a throw. Noticed this last 3 games.
Shame there's no Martinelli to liven things up. This is where we really need a few transfers - we need more depth and variety in attack. I hope we sign a Target man and a more mobile CF/False 9 - sell Nketiah. Good half though!
FT. 0-1. Fantastic victory. Thoroughly deserved too. Thought we'd be a bit leggy after the Liverpool game, but we were comfortable for most of the game. We should have scored a few more. We need to work on being more ruthless in terms of transitions and counter-attacks, but structurally and in build-up, we were very good. We also created chances from different areas of the field, which is a great difference to what we were doing last season and under Emery (relying on wing-play for chance creation). 6 points from Leicester, Liverpool and Villa is a respectable return. In 4th heading into the international break. Let's hope we keep the momentum up when we're back.
Big three points. Saka and Partey were class. Also White and Gabriel looked solid. Only downsides are we need to be more ruthless (should have scored more) and our subs made us weaker - they were brought on to give us more energy but Nketiah and Pepe both suck under pressure. Gave the ball away multiple times. Still good performance by the lads only 3 days after a tough game against Liverpool
I also want to give a shout-out to my MOTM - Thomas Partey. I was losing patience with him and got frustrated with his inconsistency/injuries before 2022. But since the turn of the year, he’s shown precisely why we bought him. He’s been colossal in the middle of the park as a no.6 and has formed a great partnership with Xhaka. This tweet sums up my thoughts about him perfectly:
It’s great to finally see the player that we bought from atletico. Last season was really tough for him but he has really grown into that role in the middle for us. I love the way he does it all with a languid unhurried style. He’s a real craftsman on the ball and his positioning and defensive nouse is spot on
Pepe's time most be numbered after that though. He came on when we needed energy and fight and all he managed to do was give the ball away multiple times. £72 Million for this guy?!.. eeeek could go down as our worst transfer ever.
Surely he's gonna be sold in the summer ? He doesn't offer us anywhere near what is required and when you compare him to players like Saka, Smith Rowe, Martinelli, Partey, Gabriel and the effort and commitment they put in, Pepe just looks like a passenger We'd be lucky to get £25m for him tbh, but we might as well cut our losses and use whatever money we can get for him to put towards another forward.