Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal: Player ratings as early Ollie Watkins strike condemns Gunners to another defeat | Premier League 2020-21
Arsenal succumbed to yet another defeat in the Premier League after Aston Villa beat them 1-0 at Villa Park. In-form striker Ollie Watkins scored just 75 seconds into the match as the Gunners never recovered from the deficit and lost for the second time in a row.
A lapse in concentration at the back from Cedric Soares saw Bertrand Traore pounce on the loose ball and race clear of the full-back, before squaring it off to Watkins to do the rest.
The Gunners, having won only twice from the previous five games, improved as the match wore on, showing good attacking intent and creating plenty of chances too. However, a combination of wayward shooting as well as goalkeeping heroics from former shot-stopper Emiliano Martinez prevented the visitors from finding the net.
So, for the first time since 1922, the North London side have lost three consecutive league games to the Villans, who also completed the league double over them for the first time since the 1992-93 season.
Here are the player ratings for the Gunners from another torrid league outing this season.
Arsenal Player Ratings
Mat Ryan - 7/10
He was spurred on after conceding the early goal, making some fine saves for the remainder of the match to prevent Villa from extending their lead further. A diving save to deny Jack Grealish in the 75th minute particularly stood out.
Hector Bellerin - 6/10
His crosses left a lot to be desired but defensively, the Spaniard was solid, even negating Grealish with some fine man-marking.
Rob Holding - 6/10
Holding could've done better to close out Watkins for the first goal but otherwise, he was alright. His passes were sloppy, though, deep in the second half of the match.
Gabriel Magalhaes - 6/10
The Brazilian is yet to regain match fitness, as evidenced from his sluggishness while building attacks from the back. From a defensive standpoint, he didn't do much wrong.
Cedric - 4/10
Awful play from the Portuguese led to Villa grabbing an early lead, as he under-hit his pass which allowed Watkins to pounce on.
Thomas Partey - 6/10
The Arsenal midfielder was both Jekyll and Hyde today. He showed some nice footwork to work a few openings in the midfield, while on the other hand, he was sloppy with his passes, misplacing quite a few of them.
Granit Xhaka - 6/10
His influence grew in the match following a quiet first half, making some quick, short passes, to keep his side moving.
Bukayo Saka - 7/10
Saka was forced to operate from a more withdrawn role today, as he was tasked with helping out Bellerin deal with Grealish. However, he was liberated as the match wore on, as he linked up well with Pepe and created quite a few chances too.
Emile Smith Rowe - 7/10
He was the key to regaining possession and made a lot of promising runs, while he was also involved in everything good coming from Arsenal in the second half.
Nicolas Pepe - 6/10
Matty Cash had Pepe in his pocket for a good 60 minutes, limiting his influence greatly by tracking his every movement and denying any time and space on the ball. The winger, however, got himself into good position in the final few minutes but lacked the cutting edge with his finishing skills.
Alexander Lacazette - 5/10
Not the best outing for the Frenchman, who made a poor decision in the first half which led to a promising attack fizzle out, while his hold-up play was poor too.
Arsenal Substitutes
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 6/10
While the Gabonese brought urgency to Arsenal's vanguard, his overall impact was limited. He was also denied a clear chance at goal by tackle from Tyrone Mings.
Martin Odegaard - 6/10
The Norwegian helped with ball progression during the dying embers but wasted a good opportunity to snatch a late equalizer for Arsenal when he smashed the ball into the stands from a promising position.
Willian - 5/10
We'll just leave this here:
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