Aston Villa produced a spirited second-half comeback on Saturday evening at the Emirates to secure a 2-2 draw with Arsenal.
After goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz either side of half-time, the hosts looked in a commanding position to go on and seal all three points, especially having dominated for large periods through the opening hour.
READ MORE: What Unai Emery said in assessment of Villa’s battling draw vs Arsenal
However, Villa struck back through Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins to earn a share of the spoils, and although there was a late scare with a disallowed goal and more pressure from the Gunners, we were able to come away with a hard-fought point to continue our positive recent form.
This point keeps us in seventh place in the Premier League table, while we’re now unbeaten in our last five games across all competitions.
Spirited comeback showed resilience and belief in group
At 2-0 down on the 59th minute mark, it honestly looked as though the game had slipped away from Villa, with Arsenal looking dominant and in control.
However, the resilience, belief and quality in this team willed us back into the game, as our first goal from Tielemans sparked us into life and gave us renewed hope of kicking on and getting something.
While we had to hang in there and dig deep in the latter stages again, Villa competed hard and showed the mentality needed in tough games on the road to get something and keep our momentum going.
Emery changes make positive impact
Once again we saw how impactful and influential Emery’s in-game management is, as although we didn’t necessarily turn the tide of the game effectively enough for a prolonged period, his tweaks helped us eventually get a draw.
Whether it was the introduction of Lamare Bogarde or Lucas Digne, or our tactical set-up to find Watkins in transition as he was constantly in 1v1 situations, there was a clear gameplan but with a touch of flexibility about it.
It’s been a constant theme of our season again this year, as Emery once again made his mark and helped inspire a second-half comeback, with both goals coming from our full-backs getting further forward and delivering dangerous crosses into the box.
Bogarde, Digne put in crucial shifts
The decision to bring Bogarde on for Amadou Onana in the 37th minute seemed like a questionable one, as we could have dropped Tielemans deeper and introduced one of Leon Bailey, Donyell Malen or Emiliano Buendia.
However, Emery showed trust and faith in the talented Dutch youngster to deliver in the midfield pivot, and he didn’t disappoint as he produced a critical display. Whether it was his defensive positioning and ability to break play up or his composure in possession to give us a foothold, it was a mature and influential shift from Bogarde.
It was a similar scenario for Digne, as he gave us more defensive solidity on that side of the pitch in the second half with Arsenal posing less of a threat, while his delivery created our first goal, which in turn sparked our fightback.
Tielemans driving force for Villa
It was a tough shift for every player on Saturday evening, as we didn’t dictate or control the game in the way we would ideally like to.
There was a lot of defending that needed to be done across the pitch, and Villa struggled to show enough quality in possession to retain the ball effectively, and build our own pressure.
One of the exceptions though was Tielemans, as aside from his all-important goal which kick-started our fightback, he was composed and influential on the ball, whether it was spinning away from trouble and starting counter attacks or keeping us ticking over and retaining possession.
We’re all well aware of the Belgian’s quality with the ball at his feet, but the tenacious and battling side of his game doesn’t always get the credit it deserves.
Villa still too passive at times and risk poor results
For all the positives discussed above, there is still a sense that Villa are too passive at times and our stand-offish approach does get us into difficult situations.
It really is a fine line between being disciplined and organised, and lacking intensity and giving the opposition too much time and space to play their game, and so it’s a balance that Emery constantly has to get right.
In the opening hour, we arguably leaned too much towards being too passive, as while we had to respect Arsenal’s quality and threat, it felt as though we didn’t do enough to get on the front foot and stop inviting pressure onto us.
Ultimately, that’s easier said than done, but it worked out as we salvaged a point. With the quality that we have and our desire to have control against any side though, it’s hopefully something we see more of in these big games as we impose ourselves more effectively.
