Aston Villa player ratings v Arsenal: 4/10 Moussa Diaby struggles, Ollie Watkins stars with 8/10
Aston Villa stunned Premier League title contenders Arsenal with a superb 2-0 victory at Emirates Stadium on Sunday (14 April).
Unai Emery made two changes for the trip to North London, with Nicolo Zaniolo and Moussa Diaby coming in for Leon Bailey and the suspended Douglas Luiz.
Emi Martinez produced a superb save to keep the scores level, but Villa themselves went close to scoring as Ollie Watkins and Youri Tielemans both hit the frame of the goal.
Substitute Leon Bailey gave Villa the breakthrough in the 84th minute, however, and Watkins got his customary goal to seal a famous victory in the capital.
Villa News rates the performance of each player out of 10 using stats supplied by WhoScored and Sofascore.
Arsenal kept quiet by Aston Villa
Emi Martinez – 8/10
Produced an out-of-this-world save to deny Leandro Trossard with the game at 0-0. Trossard should have been doing better, but Martinez still somehow kept it out from close range. That was one of four saves the Argentina international made.
Ezri Konsa – 7/10
A surprisingly quiet game defensively as he did not register any tackles, interceptions or clearances. He was himself fouled three times as he looked to make a nuisance of himself.
Diego Carlos – 8/10
An absolute rock at the back, registering two tackles, one interception and a game-high three clearances. Also led the way in terms of pass accuracy with 92.5 per cent.
Pau Torres – 8/10
Not only did he stand firm defensively, he also registered a 88.9-per-cent pass-accuracy rate and touched the ball 82 times – almost 20 times more than any other visiting player.
Lucas Digne – 8/10
Registered one key pass and also got a shot away as he looked to get forward down the left. His five clearances were two more than any other Villa player managed as he more than stood up to the test.
John McGinn – 8/10
Made a game-high four interceptions as he brilliantly protected the defence by breaking up play. Had only 47 touches, which was more down to how much of the ball Arsenal had, but Emery could not have asked for much more.
Ollie Watkins adds to Aston Villa goals tally
Youri Tielemans – 7/10
Went close to scoring with his shot that hit the frame of the goal. No player could match Tielemans in terms of tackles (four) as he mixed both defensive and attacking aspects to perfection.
Moussa Diaby – 4/10
Used on the right-hand side of attack and did a job both in and out of possession. Unsuccessful with both dribble attempts, though, and won just two of his five duels (40 per cent). Bailey showed him how it is done when brought on.
Morgan Rogers – 6/10
Almost sounds like damning with faint praise, but Rogers clearly listens to the instructions given to him by Emery in terms of his positioning. Completed two dribbles but was not a massive attacking threat prior to Villa’s late surge.
Nicolo Zaniolo – 6/10
Very good in terms of his discipline prior to going off injured in the second half. However, could do with adding some more end product to his game, having registered just one off-target shot against the Gunners.
Ollie Watkins – 8/10 (star man)
Dream season continues for the England international, who showed great strength and then clinical vision to kill off Arsenal. His goal came from his only shot on target, having earlier been so unlucky to hit the post, while he also showed the creative side of his game with two key passes.
SUBS
Leon Bailey (on for Moussa Diaby ’61) – 8/10
Talk about making an impact from the bench. Put Villa ahead brilliantly and showed why he has to start when fit and available.
Alex Moreno (on for Nicolo Zaniolo ’80) – N/A
In other Aston Villa news, the Villans are at risk of seeing transfer deals fall through if a certain development pans out.
For more Aston Villa news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.