Aston Villa remain without a point or goal in the Premier League this season after Bukayo Saka’s second-half strike gave Arsenal a 1-0 victory at Villa Park.
Unai Emery’s rebuilt side produced a substantial improvement on their 4-0 opening-day defeat at Brighton, but another blunt attacking display proved costly.
Villa again failed to register a shot on target despite Nicolas Jackson making his debut, while fellow debutant Zion Suzuki produced an impressive display in goal.
Emiliano Buendía came closest to breaking the deadlock when his 20-yard effort crashed against the crossbar during an encouraging opening spell. Sky Sports captured Buendía’s effort against the woodwork.
Bukayo Saka punishes Aston Villa
Villa had handed Jackson and Suzuki their debuts as Emery attempted to produce an immediate response to Brighton.
Jackson showed flashes of the threat Villa hope he will provide, including one first-half run beyond Gabriel, but Arsenal increasingly took control.
The breakthrough arrived after 59 minutes.
Eberechi Eze released Riccardo Calafiori down the left before the defender delivered a low ball across goal. Saka escaped Ian Maatsen and converted from close range.
The goal came only minutes after Arsenal had initially been awarded a penalty for Maatsen’s challenge on Saka. VAR correctly moved the incident outside the area before Arsenal eventually found their breakthrough.
Sky Sports has footage of Saka’s winning goal.
Zion Suzuki shines despite Villa defeat
Suzuki provided the biggest encouragement of the evening.
The goalkeeper made several saves on his Premier League debut and produced an excellent stop to deny Kai Havertz when the Arsenal striker raced through one-on-one in the second half.
Alejandro Garnacho and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were also handed Villa debuts from the bench, while Tammy Abraham replaced Jackson as Emery searched for an equaliser.
It never arrived.
The Guardian’s match coverage records Villa finishing without a shot on target, meaning Emery’s side have now failed to test the opposition goalkeeper in either Premier League game this season.
That attacking statistic will concern Emery far more than the narrow scoreline.
Villa were already facing an extraordinary transition after becoming the first English club to lose six starters from a European trophy-winning XI before the following campaign.
There were clear signs of improvement against the defending champions, particularly through Suzuki, but Villa now leave their opening two league matches with zero points, zero goals and five conceded.
Emery’s rebuilt team need their season to start quickly.
