Full-time: Aston Villa 0-2 Arsenal
Arsenal go top, Aston Villa stay bottom. The only predictable thing in this season of surprises is Villa’s awfulness. Is there any hope for Remi Garde’s faltering side? Not on the evidence of this feeble performance. Next for them is a six-pointer against Newcastle United at St James’s Park, a game they desperately need to win. Villa still haven’t won since the opening day of the season. They are terrible and it’s hard to see them getting out of this mess. As for Arsenal, they lead the table by a point, having played a game more than Leicester City. Next for Arsenal? A visit from Manchester City next Monday. That’s all from me today. Thanks for reading. Bye.
90 min+3: Oxlade-Chamberlain breaks down the right and clips a cross into the Villa area. Bellerin stoops and heads straight at Guzan.
90 min+1: Traore announces himself with Villa’s most impressive moment of the match, a surging run that began on the right flank, takes him past several Arsenal players and ends with him drilling a shot just wide of the near post. What pace!
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89 min: Villa Park: a place utterly devoid of joy.
87 min: Adama Traore comes on for Scott Sinclair, Villa making their final change.
85 min: Okore denies Oxlade-Chamberain with a last-ditch challenge, conceding a corner in the process. Before it can be taken, Calum Chambers replaces Mesut Ozil.
82 min: Arsenal go close for the first time in the second half. Ramsey tees up Oxlade-Chamberlain and his snappy shot is pushed wide by Guzan.
78 min: Gil drives a shot just wide of Cech’s left post from 25 yards. Jack Grealish comes on for Idrissa Gueye, with Sanchez able to continue.
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76 min: Carlos Sanchez, wearing a mask after suffering an eye injury last week, is down after getting bumped in the face by Giroud’s shoulder. He needs treatment.
75 min: “Every time I see him, he looks like all those transfers have wrecked his game,” says James Hupp. “He’s always head down, never seems to be working within a team concept. It can’t be an accident that he’s been mostly peripheral in Villa’s improved second half, can it?” His is a cautionary tale.
74 min: It feels like we have been playing out time since Ramsey’s goal.
71 min: Villa have another corner. Villa have another corner. Villa take a short corner. The spell of pressure ends with Gueye shanking a volley wide.
70 min: Villa have a corner.
66 min: “I’m with you 110% about the tunnel thing, Jacob,” says Simon McMahon. “At Tannadice the players regularly stroll out the tunnel at 2.59pm, clasping the hand of a small child, then proceed to shake hands with the opposition and officials, pose for photographs, swap pennants etc etc like it’s the World Cup Final. The game then kicks off at about 5 past three, and we lose. I reckon we’d not be in such a mess if we sprinted out the tunnel, tossed a coin, kicked off at 3pm and had a 10 minute half time interval.
64 min: Arsenal respond to Villa’s improvement by making two changes, Kieran Gibbs replacing Joel Campbell and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on for Theo Walcott.
63 min: Villa pull Arsenal apart and Bacuna is released on the left. He’s just outside the area but he has a sight of goal and he opens up his body and tries to curl it into the far corner. It’s an excellent attempt, but the fall flies an inch or two over.
60 min: Arsenal are really under the cosh at the moment, not that anyone has ever seen a cosh.
57 min: Villa make their first change. The ineffective Rudy Gestede makes way for Carles Gil.
56 min: Villa are transformed. Hutton sends another fine cross into the middle from the right, but the unmarked Sinclair glances a header over from six yards out! Arsenal could do with waking up.
55 min: Arsenal are doing their very best to give Villa some hope with some slack play at the back. First Mertesacker and Cech enter into clown mode, almost handing Gestede a goal with a couple of poor passes, then Giroud gets himself a tangle as he tries to help out in his own half. Yet he can’t take advantage.
53 min: “Ashley Cole?” says Simon McMahon. “Villa would be as well signing Andy Cole while they’re at it.”
50 min: It seems that Remi Garde has delivered an almighty rocket up Villa’s derriere. Now Sanchez has a go from 20 yards, looking to bend one into the top left corner. Yet Cech is behind it all the way.
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49 min: This is better from Aston Villa, their best move of the match. Alan Hutton charges down the right on the overlap and chips a teasing cross into the middle. Gestede attacks it in the six-yard box, but he mistimes his header and fluffs it wide.
48 min: Veretout blams a shot over the bar from 20 yards, an effort that’s met with meagre response.
46 min: Here we go again. I wonder how many Villa fans are still in the bar.
Arsenal’s official Twitter feed went a bit weird after Ramsey’s goal.
HALF-TIME ENTERTAINMENT AND NOSTALGIA FOR ASTON VILLA FANS
It’s exactly 17 years since Aston Villa’s last victory over Arsenal at Villa Park. And even more spookily, they were 2-0 down at half-time, Arsenal seemingly in control thanks to a Dennis Bergkamp double. But Villa fought back thanks to goals from Julian Joachim and Dion Dublin.
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Half-time: Aston Villa 0-2 Arsenal
There’s just enough time for Theo Walcott to wallop a stunning shot into the left corner from 20 yards, but the flag’s up for offside. Not to worry, though, because Arsenal are surely going to get a third goal at some point in the second half. Aston Villa are awful, Arsenal are going top of the league.
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43 min: A corner to Villa on the right. Veretout sends it towards the near post, where Hutton nuts one well wide.
40 min: Villa felt that Ramsey’s tackle on Gueye was potentially illegal. It looked like he got the ball to me. “here’s having the ball and then there’s having the ball and doing something with it,” says Mark Judd. “Just ask Mr Van Gall and, for an alternative opinion, ask the Man Utd fans.”
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GOAL! Aston Villa 0-2 Arsenal (Ramsey, 38 min)
Arsenal are going top of the league. Aaron Ramsey started this move by winning the ball off Gueye and he races the length of the field to finish it off after more unselfish work from the sublime Mesut Ozil. Villa were always in trouble once Ramsey tackled Gueye on the edge of the Arsenal area. The ball reached Walcott on the left and he dipped inside before knocking a simple pass through to Ozil. Suddenly it was three on one, Villa’s players nowhere to be seen, Veretout failing to spot the danger unfolding before him. Ozil is clean through down the middle and a beautiful body swerve sends poor Joleon Lescott off towards Birmingham New Street. Ozil draws Guzan and then rolls it to the left for Ramsey, who slams it into the empty net.
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36 min: Another Villa pass goes straight out for a throw-in. This is bad. “Never mind the Premier League, are Villa good enough to stay up in the Championship?” says
34 min: I don’t know how much more I can take of Aston Villa. They are wretched and pointless.
32 min: Villa’s lack of confidence is painful to watch. They can barely find each other with simple five-yard passes and they keep giving the ball back to Arsenal under little pressure.
31 min: Gueye has a dig from 30 yards. Cech isn’t worried as he watches the ball swerve a few yards wide.
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30 min: A free-kick to Arsenal in a central position, around 40 yards from goal, Sanchez tripping Campbell. Ozil floats it to the far post, where the unmarked Koscileny can’t rise high enough to head it in.
29 min: Arsenal have had the ball for ages. I can’t remember the last time Villa had the ball. Villa are hanging on. Arsenal keep getting into good positions, but they can’t quite find a killer final pass.
27 min: The match is less than gripping. It just feels too easy for Arsenal, but they’re not making the most of their dominance.
24 min: The only danger for Arsenal at the moment is complacency. They’re definitely capable of losing focus. “Erratic passes, miscontrols, hanging back - but Arsenal are ahead; fortunately Aston Villa are much, much worse,” says Charles Antaki.
21 min: Carlos Sanchez sends a high ball into the area. Petr Cech tries to collect it, but he seems to misjudge the flight of the ball and he can only paw the cross unconvincingly to Bacuna on the left of the Arsenal area. The goal is unguarded, but fortunately for Cech, the ball comes to Bacuna at an awkward height and his volley goes well over. A couple of jittery minutes for both goalkeepers. “Always had a soft spot for Alan Hutton,” says Niall Mullen. “I met his cousin once. He was maybe 11 or 12 at the time and was down from Scotland to see Hutton play for Spurs. He was a lovely kid who was dead proud of his cousin. Trite as it is to say that memory always reminds me to try to not be too hard on footballers as they are real people with real families who care about them.”
20 min: An Arsenal free-kick on the right. Ozil lifts it into the area and the height on the delivery tempts Guzan into a slapdash run off his line. He gets nowhere near it and he’s fortunate that the ball bounces into the air off Giroud’s bonce. A glance would have taken it in. Instead Villa are able to head it clear.
19 min: No.
18 min: Scott Sinclair drives into the heart of Arsenal territory. He’s halted just outside the area, but Ramsey dawdles on the ball and has his pocket pinched. In his desperation to win it back, he ends up giving away a free-kick 35 yards out. It’s too far out for a shot. Can Villa do anything with it?
15 min: By the way, that was Giroud’s 50th Premier League goal.
14 min: Villa are atrocious.
11 min: Alan Hutton is being booed. The Arsenal fans don’t like him because of his Tottenham past. The Villa fans don’t like him because he’s Alan Hutton.
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10 min: A break in play as Giroud goes down clutching his face after being caught in the face by a stray arm from Lescott. Sanchez is also down after being clumped by Ramsey. They’ll both live.
GOAL! Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal (Giroud pen, 8 min)
Fresh from his hat-trick in midweek, Olivier Giroud steps up and sends Brad Guzan the wrong way from the spot. Giroud aims for the bottom-left corner with his left foot and Guzan goes to his right. Arsenal lead.
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PENALTY TO ARSENAL!
7 min: This is atrocious defending from the lamentable Alan Hutton. A long ball is knocked down the left channel. Theo Walcott takes it in his stride and takes on Hutton, who looks vulnerable against the Arsenal forward. Walcott outmuscles Hutton and wriggles into the area, prompting the Villa right-back to haul him down. Arsenal scream for a penalty, but Kevin Friend seems unmoved. Walcott is furious. But eventually, Friend changes his mind and points to the spot, perhaps after a word in his ear from the linesman!
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6 min: Gueye pings a pass from left to right for Sinclair. It beats Monreal, who stands off Sinclair, allowing the winger to burst inside, on to his left foot. He shoots from 18 yards, but it’s straight at Cech.
5 min: Ramsey pops up in space 30 yards from goal. Where are the Villa midfielders? Ramsey could advance, but instead he sprays a pass out to Campbell, whose tame low cross is scrambled clear.
3 min: Campbell and Bellerin look to combine down the right, but the former’s pass down the line is too strong, running behind for a goal-kick. It’s been a low-key start. Plenty of empty seats around Villa Park. There’s a sad atmosphere around a grand old ground these days.
2 min: Aston Villa are knocking the ball around impressively in their own half, just like Barcelona.
And we’re off! Arsenal, in their yellow and blue away strip, get the game underway. They’re kicking from right to left in the first half.
Here come the teams. For absolutely no reason at all, they walk out in tracksuit tops. They won’t be wearing those for long. Here, this walking out nonsense. It struck me at Upton Park yesterday that the handshake is a total atmosphere killer - slowly walking out to Bubbles is a disgrace. Bring back the days when players sprinted out the tunnel. Who’s with me?
Arsenal are without Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla, Alexis Sanchez, Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and Tomas Rosicky, but they have a strong squad and they should have enough to win this match. Theo Walcott makes his first league start since the win over Watford on 17 October and he scored twice against Villa last season. Villa’s defence will need to keep a watchful eye on him and they might find it tough without the injured Micah Richards. Still, Union Jack Grealish has been allowed off the naughty step and on to the bench.
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The teams!
Aston Villa: Guzan; Hutton, Okore, Lescott, Bacuna; Veretout, Sanchez, Gueye; Sinclair, Gestede, Ayew. Subs: Bunn, Clark, Westwood, Traore, Gil, Lyden, Grealish.
Arsenal: Cech; Bellerin, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal; Ramsey, Flamini; Walcott, Ozil, Campbell; Giroud. Subs: Opsina, Debuchy, Gabriel, Gibbs, Chambers, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Iwobi.
Referee: Kevin Friend.
Preamble
Lose to Dinamo Zagreb, beat Bayern Munich. Capitulate at home to Olympiakos, stuff Manchester United a few days later. Drop points at Norwich and West Brom after taking the lead in both games, travel to Greece with half a team in the treatment room ... and qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League with a 3-0 win over Olympiakos, Olivier Giroud scoring a hat-trick, Joel Campbell playing like Alexis Sanchez. Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Arsenal Football Club. You can try to make sense of it if you like a challenge, but you’ll probably end up feeling very confused. At least it’s never dull.
Arsenal go top with a victory today - and wouldn’t that set them up nicely for the visit of Manchester City next weekend? It sure would! And they should get that victory. They really should! They should. They ... should. But ... they’re ... well, they’re Arsenal. Aston Villa are redefining what it means to be useless and they’ve lost their past four matches against Arsenal by an aggregate score of 14-1. They’ve not beaten them since the opening day of the 2013-14 season, Christian Benteke running riot in a 3-1 win for Villa that left the Emirates crowd in a very dark place. Villa haven’t won a home league game since May and Arsenal should be buzzing after that atypical win over Olympiakos. But they’re Arsenal. If you’ve come here looking for answers, you’re going to be disappointed. It’s Arsenal. Anything could happen.
Though the likeliest outcome is a comfortable Arsenal win, one that’s been wrapped up inside 27 minutes. Because Villa are truly awful. They’ve not won since the opening day of the season, a 1-0 victory at Bournemouth that cruelly gave their long-suffering such hope, and they’re bottom of the league with a gentleman’s six points, eight below Swansea and Norwich in 16th and 17th place respectively. This proud club is stagnating under Randy Lerner. Paul Lambert went stale and Villa even managed to debanter Tim Sherwood. Remi Garde, who played under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal in the 90s, has come in and his is an unenviable task. The Frenchman did well at Lyon, but he’s going to need all his powers of alchemy here.
Garde hasn’t been given much to work with by his predecessors and the scouting department. He began with a commendable 0-0 draw with City, but that was followed by a 4-0 clobbering at Everton and a 3-2 home defeat to Watford, before a fortuitous 1-1 draw with Southampton last weekend. There’s still time for Villa to sort themselves out and the Premier League has been so unpredictable this season that you can’t rule out the possibility of them winning today. But if we’re being logical? Arsenal, easily. Good luck, Remi.
Kick-off: 1.30pm GMT.
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