How Arteta overcame nemesis Emery to earn statement win

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Alex Keble analyses how Mikel Arteta got the better of Unai Emery as Arsenal made it two wins from two with a victory at Aston Villa.

It doesn’t matter how they got there, it doesn’t matter how slow and hesitant they looked for long periods, and it doesn’t matter how close Aston Villa came to taking the lead.

Arsenal’s 2-0 victory at Villa Park is a STATEMENT win; a huge moment in the Mikel Arteta project – and the players understood that better than anyone.

From the warrior cries of William Saliba when he chased down Jacob Ramsey to prevent a one-on-one, to the wild celebrations in front of their own supporters when Thomas Partey sealed the points, it was clear the players realised the significance.

They knew that today’s victory was another barrier smashed on the way to ending their two-decade wait for a Premier League title.

Aston Villa had won the last two head-to-heads, both to nil. It was the reason Arsenal didn’t win the title, plain and simple.

Emery, meanwhile, had lost only once in five head-to-heads with Arteta heading into this contest.

That is why Arteta’s side had to put this to bed. They had to beat Villa to end talk of a bogey team and prove to Manchester City there is no psychological blockage.

Just maybe, they needed to prove it to themselves, too.

Here is how they did it.

Villa’s defensive positioning creates low-tempo game

Up until a flow of substitutions beginning in the 65th minute, it was a very cagey game low on chances, and there is no other way to read that first hour than success for Villa, disappointment for Arsenal.

Ollie Watkins missed two big opportunities to give Villa the lead with chances that were as good as open goals, the second drawing a world-class save from David Raya. The game hinged upon that moment.

The reason it was such a dry watch was Villa’s refusal to press Arsenal. They sat off, and went man-to-man with the Arsenal midfield to cut off the passing lanes forward.

Youri Tielemans followed Martin Odegaard around, Watkins and Morgan Rogers blocked the passes into Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber, and Villa’s defensive retreat forced Arsenal to slowly move the ball back and forth.

The image below sums up the whole tactical set-up of that first 65 minutes. Arsenal wanted Villa to come out, but the hosts wouldn’t budge.

Up until those 65th-minute subs, Arsenal had taken only four shots. It looked like they would rue taking it slow and trying to feel their way into the contest.

Rogers impresses but Watkins’ rustiness lets Villa down

When Villa got on the ball, they counter-attacked dangerously, predominantly through the exceptional Morgan Rogers.

In front of interim England manager Lee Carsley, Rogers tore through the middle like Yaya Toure, completing four dribbles and carrying the ball through the lines relentlessly. Arsenal simply could not cope.

Again, there is a tactical explanation for this. Thomas Partey was often left alone at the base of midfield, and – with John McGinn and Tielemans superbly resisting pressure to wriggle free of the Arsenal counter-press and pass forward – there was too much space for Rogers (circled) to move into.

But Villa could not make it count. Or to put it another way, Watkins was not at his best.

Watkins, still recovering from an injury, looked rusty throughout the match – and it really showed in his two misses.

The first was surely a lack of match sharpness. The shot he dragged wide was his first of the season and only his second touch of the match.

The second miss might more accurately be described as an astonishing Raya save, but Watkins will know he should have put it further wide of the goalkeeper.

Super-sub Trossard – and Villa’s subs – break the deadlock

The tactical shape changed significantly in the final third of the contest, and not only because one of the Arsenal substitutes, Leandro Trossard, scored the first goal.

The game swung on Villa’s subs as well as on Arsenal’s.

It’s to Trossard’s great credit that he made the intelligent run infield to score from near the penalty spot – with his first touch no less – and it was certainly something we would not have seen from a below-par Gabriel Martinelli.

But the only reason Arsenal created that chance was because Unai Emery’s substitutes Jacob Ramsey and Jhon Duran destabilised how Villa defended from the front.

For the first time in the game, Villa’s 4-4-2 started to press the ball haphazardly, poking holes in their own shape so that Arsenal could get possession in the final third.

It’s subtle, but Duran and Ramsey were at fault in the build-up to the opener. As you can see in the image below, because they both press here (something Watkins and McGinn never did), Arsenal could slip the ball through.

Unfortunately for Villa, the second goal (created, in part, by Trossard making another run that Martinelli would not have made) also came from a mix-up in the Villa midfield.

For once, Emery’s subs changed things for the worse.

But it would be unfair to be overly critical of Villa, who were very good for long periods and could easily have snatched the win themselves.

Instead, let’s praise Arsenal for upping the tempo and Arteta for making the right substitution to affect the game.

Last season, Arsenal looked back on Villa games with regret. This May, they might watch back that Raya save and Trossard goal as defining moments in a title-winning season.

 

PREMIER LEAGUE