Saka Strikes as Arsenal Win 1-0 at Aston Villa

The Result at Villa Park

Arsenal beat Aston Villa 1-0 at Villa Park, with Bukayo Saka scoring the winning goal, BBC Sport reported.

The game closed Matchday 2 of the Premier League, kicking off at 8pm on Monday night, according to OneFootball and Arsenal's own match preview.

The defeat left Villa without a point from their opening two matches. Their manager, Unai Emery, said so directly: "After two matches, we don't have a point but hopefully we can get better."

Sponsored

FlightsBirminghamLOS to BHXCompare fares

Reaction From Both Managers

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told Match of the Day that the win was hard earned. "This is a really difficult place to come and win the game. Last season we lost in the last kick of the game," he said, calling it "a great squad performance tonight".

Arteta pointed to his substitutes. "The players that come in make the difference. All of them contributed to create more dominance and more momentum," he said.

Emery told Sky Sports his side had competed well. "They are favourites to win the Premier League and we are trying to build a team, but a lot of positive things," he said. He added that the defeat was painful but that there are 38 matches in a season.

A Rebuilt Villa Squad

Arsenal's club website reported that Villa's squad has been heavily broken up, with only five starters from last season's Europa League final still at the club. It listed Morgan Rogers moving to Chelsea for £117 million, Youri Tielemans to Manchester United, Lucas Digne to Paris Saint-Germain, and departures for Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martinez.

Defender Ezri Konsa moved in the other direction, from Villa to Arsenal. Incomings at Villa included goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, Aaron Wan-Bissaka on loan from West Ham United, Matteo Ruggeri from Atletico Madrid, Leon Goretzka from Bayern Munich, and Nicolas Jackson to replace Watkins.

Villa finished fourth last season and won the Europa League by beating Freiburg 3-0, their first trophy in 30 years, per the same preview. Before this game they had lost 4-0 at Brighton on the opening day. Yahoo Sports had flagged Emery's goalkeeper choice between Suzuki and Marco Bizot as a key call; the sources here do not say who started.

Unresolved Transfer Business

Asked about Ibrahim Mbaye and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Emery told Sky Sports he did not know more if the moves were not official. "I think the squad we have now is how we planned and the players we wanted," he said.

He told Match of the Day he was happy with how the window was closing and was "not regretting anything". Arsenal's preview noted the summer window was due to shut 24 hours after the game.