Arsenal shines with combination football
Arsenal determined the initial phase with strong combination football, Aston Villa had little access. With Arsenal under pressure, Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez had to prevent Ezri Konsa’s own goal (10′). A little later, Emile Smith almost pushed Rowe into the lead (18 ‘), which Saka then took over after half an hour with a drop kick worth seeing.
Aston Villa unlucky: Post saves for Leno
Villa had significant problems with the gunners’ precise lateral shifts, did not develop themselves and remained very pale offensively. John McGinn, whose shot went just wide of the goal after a good hour, set the first really serious accent. However, Arsenal’s goalkeeper Bernd Leno was also lucky – after hopeless chaos in the London penalty area, only the post saved after a deflected shot by Ollie Watkins (68th).