Premier League

ASTON VILLA 0
ARSENAL 1 (Saka 30)

ARSENAL tightened their grip on fourth spot in the Premier League this afternoon (Saturday) with a well-earned 1-0 victory over Aston Villa.

Bukayo Saka scored what proved to be the winner, beating former Gunners’ goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez with a low drive from the edge of the area after Villa failed to clear their lines.

It was Arsenal’s 2,000th Premier League goal, and after the final whistle Saka raced to the away supporters at Villa Park to give his shirt to one lucky fan.

“It’s very, very, very satisfying,” the England international told BBC Match of the Day. “I thought we created a lot.

“We started very well. The early goal helped us get into the game, but we need to start finishing games to prevent things from getting too nervy.

“We defended really well. Credit to the goalkeeper and defence, who were so solid again. The way we defended and saw out the game, we’ve done that quite a few times this season. It’s making a real difference.”

Mikel Arteta was forced to make two changes to his starting line-up following the midweek defeat to Liverpool, with Bernd Leno replacing the injured Aaron Ramsdale in goal, while Emile Smith Rowe came in for Gabriel Martinelli, who was ill.

But the tweaks and changes didn’t affect the way Arsenal went about their business, with the north Londoners dominating much of the opening 45 minutes.

Saka got in behind Ashley Young inside the opening minutes and carved out the first real chance of the game, setting up Smith Rowe who blazed over the crossbar.

Thomas Partey then fired a tame effort at Martinez, before another cross brought the best out of the Villa goalkeeper when it deflected off Ezri Konsa – Martinez reacting well to prevent an own goal.

It was one-way traffic, and all that was missing was the goal. That arrived on the half-hour mark when a short free-kick out on the right eventually fell to Saka, he beat Martinez with a low shot that came through a crowd of defenders.

Villa improved after the break but rarely troubled the Arsenal goal. Ollie Watkins’ deflected shot clipped the outside of the post, while substitute Danny Ings sent a looping header just over the bar.

The only real heart-stopping moment came in the final minute of stoppage time, when Philippe Coutinho’s free-kick was pushed away by Leno.

The 1-0 win sees fourth-place Arsenal increase their lead over Manchester United to four points, while they also still have games in hand over their Champions League rivals heading into the international break.

“It’s a very big win for us. I thought we played fantastically well, but we didn’t put the game to bed when we had the chances,” said Arteta. “Then you suffer, but we showed the resilience to win.

“The connection between the players and the fans is exceptional and that gives you a lot of energy and belief. There’s still 10 games to go and you can see how small the margins are.”

Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Young, Luiz, McGinn, Ramsey (Bailey, 69), Coutinho, Buendia (Traore, 69), Watkins (Ings, 82)
Substitutes not used: Olsen, Sanson, Chambers, O’Reilly, Iroegbunam, Chukwuemeka

Arsenal: Leno, Tierney, White, Gabriel, Cedric, Partey, Xhaka, Smith Rowe, Saka (Pepe, 69), Odegaard (Holding, 86), Lacazette (Nketiah, 78)
Substitutes not used: Okonkwo, Tavares, Sambi Lokonga, Elneny, Swanson