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arsenal boss Mikel Arteta One player was told he “should not start” after Tuesday’s 4-1 win over Aston Villa.
Arsenal beat Aston Villa 4-1 away
It was a night to remember for the north Londoners as Arsenal scored four goals in a blistering second half to secure victory over their Premier League rivals at the Emirates Stadium.
After a goalless first half, the home side took the lead less than three minutes into the second period when Emiliano Martinez received a corner kick from Bukayo Saka and the ball rolled in through Gabriel’s thigh.
In the 52nd minute, Martin Zubimendi caught Martin Odegaard’s exquisite pass, and Arsenal doubled their advantage; in the 69th minute, Leandro Trossard scored from a long shot, causing Villa to completely lose the chance of the game.
Gabriel Jesus scored his first goal since New Year’s Day shortly after coming on as a substitute and Ollie Watkins scored a consolation goal for the visitors in stoppage time.
This impressive victory was the perfect shot in the arm for Arteta’s men, who had beaten their side 2-1 in stoppage time at Villa Park just 24 days earlier.
This also ended Villa’s 11-match winning streak with the club and ended their three-way title ambitions.
Arsenal, without the injured Declan Rice for the first time this season, are five points ahead of Manchester City, with Villa also six behind.
Having beaten Wolves, Everton and Brighton in their previous three games, Arsenal were far from their fluid best in the first half and the expectation of ending a 22-year wait for the title seemed to hang over them.
But they came out lively after the break, which will serve as a warning to City ahead of Thursday’s game against Sunderland.
Their opener, as usual, came from a set-piece. Martinez was caught in a dilemma, debating whether to catch or beat Saka’s inside man, but ended up doing neither. Under pressure from Gabriel, Martinez was unable to receive the ball and the ball ended up falling into the net from the Arsenal defender’s left thigh.
VAR then checked whether Martinez had been fouled by Gabriel, but the goal stood and the home team celebrated a second goal just four minutes later.
It was all about Odegaard, who won possession in Villa’s half and had time to put the ball cleverly with his left foot into the path of Zubimendi, who poked the ball past the onrushing Martinez.
Jurien Thibault enjoyed a fine game as Arsenal’s conductor after his goal-scoring finish with a high shot from the corner ahead of Odegaard Excellent performance against Brighton The last time I went out, it was also a big hit. The captain almost scored his team’s third goal, but Martinez converted his long-range shot into a corner kick.
However, minutes later the Argentinian was unable to do anything against Trossard’s shot. Odegaard found Saka at the back post and Lucas Digne hesitated, allowing Thimble to pounce.
The ball fell to Trossard, who then fired a low shot into the bottom corner, sending Arsenal into a dream. A VAR investigation was then conducted to determine whether Saka was offside during the match. He’s not, but the goal remains.
Arsenal fans may have thought their night couldn’t have been made better by seeing Jesus replace a player who was struggling to score. Victor Jocklesscoring with the first touch of the ball.
Odegaard was involved again, hooking the ball over the top to Zubimendi who found Trossard before Jesus opened him up with a touch before curling a curling shot past Martinez with 12 minutes left.
Watkins continued his impressive individual display against Arsenal, scoring for the seventh time in 13 games, but it was the only sour taste in a stunning night for Arteta’s title chasers.
That being said, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher believes there was another “negative” last night.
Jamie Carragher urges Arteta to drop Victor Jakreis after Villa collapse
Speaking to Sky Sports, via Football 365, the former Liverpool defender has urged Arteta to drop Joe Kreis after another poor performance in front of goal.
The Swede, who has not scored in an open game since November, scored a penalty against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, but it was his only goal in Arsenal’s past seven league games.
Now, Carragher says Gio Kreis ‘should not start for Arsenal’Jesus and Kai Havertz are both listed as better options.
“I think the only negative for Arsenal tonight is probably that Gio Kreis shouldn’t start for Arsenal when they have a player like that (Jesus),” Carragher said.
“I think over the course of a few games, when Jesus got up to speed a little bit, he was a better player than Joe Kress. That’s a fact.
“He (Jesus) has been questioned before, is he good enough for Arsenal to help them win the league? But now he’s better than the guy they brought in who they thought was going to win the league for them.”
“He or Kai Havertz as a center forward for Arsenal is a better player than Joe Kreis. Joe Kreis really has a game spirit and I admired him for taking the penalty against Everton, he always looked very nervous.
“But I think when you think about the players they have on the bench, he just lacks skill and quality.
“Don’t forget, Manchester City have (Erling) Haaland, so I think Arsenal need to improve on what they have in Djoukres and they have players who can improve on Djookres in Jesus.”
The 27-year-old spent two years playing free-scoring football in Portugal, scoring seven goals in 21 games for Arsenal, and this could be an example of Joe Kreis finding his feet in a more competitive league.
Regardless, Arteta will be happy to have alternatives available, but we shouldn’t give up on Gio Kreis just yet, as he still provides plenty of work-rate and excellent movement off the ball to trouble defenders.
