Aston Villa player ratings after the visitors inflicted a shock 2-0 win over title-chasers Arsenal to move fourth.
Unai Emery’s side produced an emphatic performance against his former club to see out an incredible victory against the Gunners.
Multiple first-teamers were fantastic throughout as the manager’s gameplay was done to perfection.
The visitors saw out a massive amount of pressure in the first half before pouncing on Arsenal late in the game. Super-sub Leon Bailey netted the first before Ollie Watkins found the net shortly after to execute a perfect performance with a victory.
Below we rate the players in one of the most memorable victories in the 2023/24 campaign.
GK – Emi Martinez – 8/10
Made an incredible save late in the first half from Leandro Trossard when the attacker had the whole of the goal to aim for. The ‘keeper found himself less busy in the second period as Villa had big periods of domination.
RB – Ezri Konsa – 7/10
Found himself caught out at times in the first half with Konsa forming a big gap between himself and Diego Carlos. While it was clear he struggled in the first half against Bukayo Saka, he defender had no issues in the second as he really stepped up in the last 45 minutes.
CB – Diego Carlos – 10/10
Easily Villa’s best player. Despite the pressure building up against visitors in the opening 45 minutes, Diego Carlos kept his composure throughout, halting all of Arsenal’s attacks. This continued in the following half with the Brazilian being almost impenetrable.
CB – Pau Torres – 8/10
Partnered alongside Diego Carlos, Pau Torres was fantastic at the back. The defender’s positioning ensured the hosts had little room to manoeuvre in the box.
The defender arguably missed a sitter late on as he missed the ball from Digne’s cross. However, he cared little as it ran towards Bailey for the winger to get the opener.
LB – Lucas Digne – 8/10
Had a chance to put Villa ahead right on half-time with a free-kick but he could not get past the wall. However, the full-back more than made up for it with a sensational cross that put the ball on a plate for Leon Bailey to put the visitors in front.
CM – John McGinn – 7/10
Played a deeper role compared to the last time the two played each other. However, this did not affect the captain’s performance. McGinn proved to be a real leader out on the field and helped to control the game in Villa’s favour throughout.
CM – Youri Tielemans – 8/10
Tielemans was incredibly unlucky not to put Villa in front just after the hour mark. The midfielder hit a world-class strike from a distance which bounced off the bar and then the post before flying wide. Late in the day, Tielemans helped settle the result as he sent a fantastic ball into Watkins for the striker to make it 2-0.
CAM – Morgan Rogers – 7/10
Aston Villa’s best-attacking outlet in the first half was he tried to make things happen for the visitors. Helped keep momentum for Emery’s side in the second half as they went on to win the game.
RW – Moussa Diaby – 5/10
Moussa Diaby was ineffective throughout as Arsenal pressed for the win. The winger was unable to reduce the pressure the hosts inflicted before he was subbed off on the hour mark.
ST – Ollie Watkins – 8/10
The striker was mainly feeding off scraps in the first half as Arsenal continued to pressure the visitors. Watkins was highly unlucky not to score the opener as he fired the ball onto the inside of the post and wide after pouncing on a mistake.
However, Watkins more than made up for this miss. The English international settled the result when he dinked the ball over David Raya late in the day to settle the result.
LW – Nicolo Zaniolo – 7/10
A performance that has split opinion. In attack, Zaniolo was fantastic with his performance forcing Ben White off who has arguably been the best right-back this season. However, his lack of backtracking on the wing often left Lucas Diane exposed, especially when he was dispossessed in the first half. In the second period, he greatly improved before he was subbed off.
Sub – Leon Bailey – 8/10
Aston Villa’s super-sub. Coming on for Moussa Diaby, the winger found himself in the right place at the right time to bury a loose ball into the back of the net after a superb cross from Digne. Bailey had one job when he came and he undoubtedly delivered.
Sub – Alex Moreno – 6/10
Helped to swing the result in Villa’s favour.
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