Arsenal 3-1 Aston Villa: Premier League Player Ratings

The visitors at the Emirates were outplayed by Mikel Arteta’s men, who are now unbeaten in their last seven fixtures.

Arsenal put in a dominant display against Aston Villa and came out with a 3-1 victory in Friday’s Premier League match.

Arsenal scored twice in the first half and once in the second period, with Thomas Partey, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Emile Smith Rowe getting on the scoresheet.

Partey opened the scoring at minute 23, getting on the end of Smith Rowe’s corner delivery and heading into the back of the net.

Thomas Partey first goal for Arsenal in his 40th appearance in all competitions, and from his 49th attempted shot for the club. #ARSAVL pic.twitter.com/zjbALHqJMF
— Elijah Kyama (@ElijahKyama) October 22, 2021

VAR helped the Gunners double their lead as an incident inside the box between Alexandre Lacazette and Matt Target was initially overlooked by referee Craig Pawson but after looking at the pitchside monitor, he concluded Target had fouled Lacazette and awarded the hosts a penalty. Aubameyang fumbled his initial attempt but found the target after reacting quickly on the rebound.

Smith Rowe put the game to bed four minutes before the hour-mark, finishing off a brilliant counter-attacking move that he himself had started.

Emile Smith Rowe’s game by numbers vs. Aston Villa:

66 touches
17 final third passes completed (most)
4 chances created (most)
4 touches in opp. box
4 ball recoveries
4 duels won
3 take-ons
3 crosses
2 shots
2 interceptions
1 goal
1 assist

Ran the show. 👏 pic.twitter.com/cMshczZTkm
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) October 22, 2021

Aston Villa pulled one back to spark some hope of a comeback but in the end, it only proved to be a consolation goal.

Arsenal vs Aston Villa Player Ratings

Arsenal: Ramsdale – 8, Tomiyasu – 7, White – 6, Gabriel – 7, Tavares – 7, Saka – 7, Partey – 8, Sambi Lokonga – 6, Smith Rowe – 9, Lacazette – 8, Aubameyang – 8, Odegaard – 6, Maitland-Niles – 5, Martinelli – N/A