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Saka ends Villa resistance
Bukayo Saka scored in the 59th minute as Arsenal beat Aston Villa 1-0 at Villa Park to extend their perfect start with a second successive Premier League win.
“Bukayo Saka scored in the 59th minute, securing Arsenal's 1-0 victory over Aston Villa”
Rediff said Saka’s strike came in the 59th minute to secure Arsenal’s 1-0 victory, lifting them to six points alongside Manchester City, Hull City and Chelsea.
The Guardian’s live blog described the match as a tight contest decided when “Eberechi Eze and Riccardo Calafiori combined down the inside-left channel” and Saka finished the tap-in.
NBC Sports reported the game was physical and that once Arsenal found the opener, the pace slowed, with Arsenal closing up shop to avoid conceding a shot on David Raya’s goal.
Sky Sports said the champions began their title defence with back-to-back victories, while Unai Emery’s side were still searching for their first point after losing 0-1.
Arteta and Emery react
After the final whistle, Mikel Arteta told Sky Sports, “Really happy. A massive win. A tough place to come and earn the three points.”
Unai Emery responded to Sky Sports by saying, “We lost. We competed well. We are trying to rebuild the team but a lot of positive things after the result.”
The Guardian’s match report quoted Saka to Sky Sports as he described Villa as “compact” and said Arsenal “weren’t able to implement our attacking patterns like we did last week.”
Sky Sports also highlighted a VAR moment in which Saka was denied a penalty after Ian Maatsen’s foul was ruled to be outside the box.
NBC Sports framed the result as Arsenal finishing the day behind first-place Manchester City on tiebreakers while Villa fell to 0-0-2 on the young season.
Next tests and title pressure
With Arsenal’s win, Al Jazeera said the champions took maximum points from their opening two games without conceding a goal and that Arteta marked his 250th league game in charge.
“Arsenal will face the first serious test of their ability to retain the title on Sunday when they host London rivals Chelsea”
Al Jazeera also reported that Arsenal will face their first serious test on Sunday when they host London rivals Chelsea, with the possibility that they could be bolstered by another new arrival as they track Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez ahead of Tuesday’s transfer deadline.
NBC Sports said what’s next for Villa is a trip to Hull City at 12:30pm ET Saturday before a UEFA Champions League trip to Club Brugge, while Arsenal host Chelsea at 11:30am Sunday.
The Guardian’s live blog noted Arsenal celebrate their win and head off to prepare for the visit of Chelsea on Sunday, while it said Villa are off to Hull on Saturday.
Rediff added that Aston Villa remain pointless and goalless after two matches, with Villa expected to strengthen their squad before the transfer window closes on Tuesday.