View: Aston Villa can take positives despite 4-2 loss v Arsenal
Well, regardless of the final score that was a Premier League classic between Aston Villa and Arsenal – and it’s a result which could have huge ramifications at the top of the table.
At one point on Saturday afternoon, it seemed like the title race had shifted firmly in Manchester City’s favour, with Unai Emery’s side leading 2-1 midway through the second half.
4-2 doesn’t tell the full story, and despite Villa suffering three defeats on the spin, they will know they ran the Premier League table toppers very close – which cannot be said for many teams this season.
Sometimes you have to accept the quality of the opposition. Bukayo Saka’s finish was world-class, Oleksandr Zinchenko’s equaliser was struck with pinpoint accuracy, and Jorginho was perhaps unlucky not to see his thunderbolt of a strike find the top corner before Emi Martinez’s own goal.
The Gunners produced when they needed to, and their need is far greater than Villa’s at present. Emery’s men are comfortable in mid-table and if they can perform as they did against Mikel Arteta’s side on Saturday afternoon, they will enjoy a comfortable end to the campaign.
Villa did cause their visitors plenty of issues and that’s proven by comparing their performance to how other teams have faired against Arsenal. Aston Villa managed seven shots, which is the average number the league leaders have faced in the 2022/23 campaign (Wyscout).
However, Villa managed a 71 per cent accuracy rate, which is nearly 31 per cent higher than what Arsenal have faced during the course of the campaign. This indicates that Villa were a constant attacking threat throughout the 90 minutes and weren’t reliant on a high volume of speculative efforts.
We also saw another side to Villa’s game, which could well be crucial when matching up against the better teams in the league. Counterattacking effectively against the likes of Arsenal is almost a requirement. It can often be hard to dominate the game and Emery’s men were massively improved in this sense.
So far this season, Villa have managed just over 1.5 counterattacks per 90 minutes, with 50 per cent of them ending up in a shot. This doubled against Arsenal, with Leon Bailey being denied a sensational goal by a superb Aaron Ramsdale save.
Emery introduced the pacey winger at the perfect time and this could well be a ploy the Villa boss looks to utilise more in the coming weeks.
The loss against Manchester City had many concerned that a similar performance was in the offing on Saturday. The trip to the Etihad saw Villa perform in a passive and abject manner. They weren’t looking to press their hosts, but they were also very welcoming when it came to allowing shots and chances on their goal.
PPDA (passes per defensive action) is an excellent measure of how well a team presses their opponents. Against Manchester City, Villa’s was 24, which, to be brutally honest, is woeful regardless of the opposition.
However, against Arsenal there was a marked improvement, with Villa only allowing 13 passes on average before winning the ball back.
Taking the game to their opponents instead of being passive is the route to go down. Fans would much prefer that gung-ho approach as opposed to sitting off and allowing the likes of Arsenal to dominate.
Credit will have to be thrown the away side’s way. They knew what was at stake and ultimately showed what Premier League champions need to display. With that in mind, this was by no means a poor performance or result for Emery’s men. If anything it should be used as a significant springboard heading into the latter stage of the season.
In other Aston Villa news, the club want to reunite with a former player for a fee in excess of £40million in the summer.