Aston Villa star Ross Barkley and Mikel Arteta

Ross Barkley and Mikel Arteta Imago

Aston Villa player ratings vs Arsenal: Ross Barkley sensational as 3/10 teammate woeful

Senior Correspondent AUTHORITY Senior sports journalist with experience at Sports Mole and VAVEL; Masters graduate from Liverpool John Moores University. FOCUS Breaking news, long-form analysis, and club-level insight across the Breaking Media network. THE INSIGHT Declan utilises a network of club and industry contacts to deliver verified, high-speed reporting. He provides the depth behind the headlines — from breaking news to analytical deep-dives — to ensure fans get the full story as it happens.

Published on:

31 Aug 2026, 8:51 pm

Aston Villa suffered a 1-0 defeat against Arsenal on Monday evening.

Unai Emery made two changes from the side that was hammered by Brighton for the Villa Park clash.

Zion Suzuki and Nicolas Jackson were handed debuts, as Joao Gomes and Marco Bizot came out of the team.

Bukayo Saka gave the reigning champions the lead just before the hour mark, and the hosts simply could not respond.

The result leaves the Villans with two losses from their opening two Premier League matches.

Villa News looks at how each of the players performed against Arsenal.

Ross Barkley shines in Aston Villa vs Arsenal

Ross Barkley is a divisive figure, mainly due to his fitness issues, but he was Villa's standout performer against Mikel Arteta's side.

The midfielder created two chances, made eight passes into the final third and eight line-breaking passes in the clash, per FotMob data.

Barkley made 10 defensive contributions, with three tackles, one clearance and six recoveries.

He also won all four ground duels that he attempted, for a 100 per cent success rate in that metric.

If he continues in this vein of form, then there is no reason why he could not be a regular starter going forward.

Barkley is clearly willing to put the effort in, and his showing against the Gunners was unfortunate to come out on the losing side.

It was a surprise when he was hooked by Emery for Alejandro Garnacho in the 78th minute.

Every Aston Villa player who'll have their future to play for in 2026-27 Premier League season

Ian Maatsen dismal as Aston Villa lose

Ian Maatsen has taken up the role of first-choice left back this season, after Lucas Digne departed.

However, he had a nightmare evening against Saka, and he ultimately got caught out for the goal.

Maatsen failed to complete either of the three dribbles that he tried, and did not create a single chance for his teammates.

The Dutchman made five defensive contributions, with three tackles, one clearance, and one interception, and committed five fouls in the contest, per FotMob data.

In terms of ground duels, he won just three of 13, for an 23 per cent success rate, in a truly miserable evening.

If he is going to be trusted to start regularly, he needs to step up his level, as he was badly exposed on this occasion and failed to do so.