Aston Villa battled back to secure a 2-2 draw at Arsenal, with goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins salvaging a point.
The Gunners were the stronger of the two sides in the opening stages, and although Villa were resolute and disciplined, we leaned towards being too passive and not doing enough on or off the ball.
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That in turn saw Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz put the home side 2-0 ahead, but after Tielemans headed home on the hour mark, that sparked us into life as Watkins got himself on the scoresheet just eight minutes later.
Villa had to dig in and defend in the latter stages to hold on for a share of the spoils, and fortunately we were able to do so as it keeps our momentum going with a hard-fought point on the road to extend our positive recent form.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Arsenal:
Emiliano Martinez, 7.5 – Made a number of crucial saves to keep us in the game and ultimately secure a point. Will likely be disappointed with not being able to prevent the goals, but both were difficult for him to do so with two close-range efforts.
Matty Cash, 7 – Had a really difficult evening against Trossard and was caught out on several occasions, and so that aspect of his performance needed to be better. Stuck to his task though and pushed forward when possible, while it was his assist that helped Watkins bag our equaliser.
Ezri Konsa, 7 – By no means the most solid of shifts we’ll see from the Villa centre-half this season, but considering the pressure that Arsenal applied throughout, did relatively well. Along with Mings though, they know they have to defend better in the box.
Tyrone Mings, 7 – Made countless clearances as he so often does to add an important physical presence at the back, but similarly to Konsa, they didn’t defend well enough at times, and that was never more evident than the second goal as between them, they didn’t get tight enough to Havertz.
Ian Maatsen, 6 – A threat going forward, but got caught out for the opening goal and also picked up a booking. There were a few times where both he and Ramsey looked confused over who was picking up who, leaving Martinelli open at the back. That needs to be ironed out when he comes back into the side next.
Boubacar Kamara, 7 – Important shift in the middle of the pitch as he battled hard throughout to try and give us a foothold, regaining and retaining possession in a game where we struggled to impose ourselves and get any rhythm. At times, could have been more effective in shielding the backline, but a key contribution nonetheless.
Amadou Onana, 6 – Replaced just after the half hour mark as he picked up another setback. Looked like he was having a positive influence prior to that, but it’s hoped that he isn’t now set for another spell on the sidelines.
Morgan Rogers, 7 – Lacked physicality and wasn’t able to retain possession effectively enough, but had to dig in like the rest of the team in this one and put in a defensive shift. Posed a threat at times on the counter, but we needed more from him when we did break forward.
Youri Tielemans, 7.5 – A brilliant diving header to breathe life back into us just as it seemed the game was slipping away. Showed real class and composure to spin out of trouble on a few occasions, and was a key figure in helping us grow into the game to have spells, particularly as we launched our fightback.
Jacob Ramsey, 7 – Worked hard in and out of possession and threatened at times with his ability to carry the ball with pace. Showed good link up play on occasion too, as he continues to build up his sharpness and match fitness.
Ollie Watkins, 7.5 – Felt as though there was a real chance for him on the counter throughout the game, but the execution of the pass to put him through and his touch or run wasn’t quite spot on. Continued to battle up front though, and eventually got his reward as he produced a tidy finish to rescue a point for us.
Substitutes:
Lamare Bogarde, 7 – Deserves real credit as it can’t have been easy coming into the game at the time that he did. Naturally, there were things he could have done better, but in terms of his positioning and defensive help along with composure in possession, a really positive outing for him.
Lucas Digne, 7.5 – Gave us more defensive stability in the second half as Arsenal felt less of a threat on that side after the break, and he produced an excellent delivery into the box for Tielemans to head home our first goal to get us back into the contest.
Jhon Duran, N/A
Leon Bailey, N/A
