Matty Cash sublime, £28m star utterly wasteful – Aston Villa’s winners and losers vs Arsenal
Unai Emery will feel two different Aston Villa teams turned up against Arsenal during a last-ditch 2-1 win at Villa Park.
Arsenal beat Brentford 2-0 to keep their spot at the top of the Premier League table, though they were not able to continue their winning streak when facing the Villans on Saturday, 6 December.
With Man City set to play Sunderland later on Saturday, Mikel Arteta will have wanted all three points against the Villans, but Matty Cash had other ideas with an early opener.
Ollie Watkins missed a golden opportunity to score even earlier, being thwarted by David Raya, before substitute Leandro Trossard equalised for the visitors early in the second half.
However, with just seconds left on the clock, Emi Buendia fired home the winner with the final kick of the game. Incredible scenes ensued at Villa Park.
Winners
Matty Cash
Cash has been incredible since putting pen to paper on a new deal at Villa Park, scoring the winner against Man City, before netting his third of the campaign against Arsenal.
Ian Maatsen
Ian Maatsen caused issues for the Gunners all afternoon, not just in the defensive third, but also in attacking areas, managing to get Bukayo Saka booked in the closing stages.
Boubacar Kamara
Villa fans were pleasantly surprised by Boubacar Kamara, who showed a lot of technical ability on the ball, as well as being rock-solid in the middle of the park.
Losers
Ollie Watkins
As already discussed, Watkins missed a gilt-edged chance in the first 10 minutes, alongside another three opportunities. While his runs in-behind were positive, he rarely threatened Raya’s goal.
Amadou Onana
It is very rare that Villa struggle in the middle of the park. However, Amadou Onana was overrun in midfield, giving up possession on the halfway line before Villa conceded.
Jadon Sancho
While he did eventually make it onto the pitch, Jadon Sancho was given just 15 minutes to impress at Villa Park, and unsurprisingly, his impact was not the greatest.