Aston Villa tasted defeat in their second game of the new Premier League season as Arsenal were 2-0 victors at Villa Park on Saturday.
Unai Emery had Mikel Arteta’s number last season as Aston Villa did the double over Arsenal, but it is first blood to the Gunners this campaign.
Arsenal will again have hopes of challenging for the Premier League title this season, whilst Villa will be keen to secure another season in the Champions League.
The Villa Park clash was an intriguing game and Emery’s side can consider themselves unlucky to have lost 2-0 thanks to strikes by Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey in a game they could easily have won on another day.
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Given Villa effectively ended Arsenal’s title hopes last season with a 2-0 win at The Emirates in April, Arteta was fully aware that his side would not have it easy in the Midlands.
Mikel Arteta was worried by Aston Villa ball carriers ahead of Arsenal’s Villa Park visit
Arteta took over from Emery at Arsenal and has seen his side progress in each season of his tenure.
Emery was treated harshly in North London but has rebuilt his reputation emphatically with the work he has done in a short space of time at Villa.
Speaking to the official Arsenal club website after the game, Arteta was clearly relieved to have got through a tough test with three points.
Asked about the threat of Villa players running forward with the ball, the 42-year-old responded: “Yes. And they do that every time they play.
“The moment they have space, and especially the moment that you lose the ball on your own-counter press. They break that press and they are a team that is really, really dangerous.
“They have a lot of legs, they are really powerful, they can carry the ball and their strikers sit between centre-backs and full-backs. They are a real threat.”
Aston Villa have a number of players cabal of running with the ball
Arteta highlights one of the real strengths of the side Emery has built.
From the side that started on Saturday, Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey, John McGinn, Amadou Onana and Morgan Rogers are all powerful runners who can progress the ball quickly by carrying it up the pitch.
Rogers was particularly impressive in this regard, drawing widespread praise for his exciting performance despite being on the losing team.
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This is also likely to be a really useful weapon in the Champions League this season as some of the more cultured sides on the Continent will struggle to handle the athleticism that Villa possess.
Emery will have been disappointed to lose against his former employers, but will have seen plenty from his Villa players to be optimistic about.
