March 19, (THEWILL) – Arsenal took their tally of English Premier League goals to 2,000 with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa, courtesy of another Bukayo Saka strike that secured the fourth-place position of the Gunners in the league standings untill the EPL resumes next month.
Emile Smith Rowe had the game’s first opportunity after only a few minutes for the opener. Saka had found Martin Odegaard, who squared the ball to Smith Rowe, but the team’s leading scorer could not keep up his pace.
A few minutes later, the ball was accidentally ricocheted into former Gunner Emi Martinez’s bottom corner by the returning Ezri Konsa, but the Argentine made a sublime instinctive save to keep the ball out.
In the early stages, it was all Arsenal, with Saka, Odegaard, and Smith Rowe completely dominating. Villa’s backline, who were visibly distraught with such regularity, struggled to cope with their clever passing.
It was only a matter of time before Arsenal seized the lead, and it came through Saka, as expected for Arsenal’s 2,000th Premier League goal. The winger, who was waiting at the edge of the box, sprinted on to a knockdown to drive a low shot through a sea of players and past Martinez.
After going behind, Villa demonstrated a little more promise, but they concluded the first half without asking Bernd Leno any serious questions. Throughout the first 45 minutes, they only got two touches in the Arsenal box, which was the best summary of their threats going forward.
After the break, the hosts posed a greater danger. Ashley Young’s whipping cross came perilously close to falling to Ollie Watkins, but Gabriel deflected the ball away with a wonderful header.
The pressure did not let up, and John McGinn had the next chance, but his curled attempt from outside the box could not find its way inside the post. Saka failed with a near-identical effort shortly after, as chances went begging at both ends of the pitch.
Arsenal lowered the tempo and weathered the half-storm of a desperate Villa side. Both teams had periods of possession, but none posed a serious threat to the other’s goal.
Substitute Danny Ings connected with a McGinn cross late in the game, but he could not keep his looping header down and saw it nestle on top of Leno’s net. Villa kept pushing, but they lacked quality in the last third, and Leno never looked like conceding, allowing Arsenal to return to London with maximum points.
After the international break, both teams return to Premier League action. On April 2, Villa will go to Wolves, while Arsenal will visit to Crystal Palace on April 4.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
