Arsenal laid to rest the ghosts of their losses to Aston Villa last season by picking up a second Premier League victory at the start of the 2024/25 campaign on Saturday night.
The Gunners suffered two crucial defeats to the Villans last term but they rode the wave of home pressure before strikes from Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey helped them secure all three points away from home.
There were a number of impressive performances from Mikel Arteta’s squad, though some players couldn’t make their mark on the encounter.
With the help of 90min’s player ratings, here are Arsenal’s best and worst players from their win on Saturday night.
William Saliba – 8/10
William Saliba endured some darker days at the start of his Arsenal career but fast forward a couple of years and he is arguably the best defender in the Premier League at present.
The Frenchman was called into action regularly on Saturday as the likes of Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers poured forward, but he always seemed to come up with the answer to the home side’s probing questions. Be it a crucial header or a last-ditch sliding challenge, there was simply no getting past Saliba at Villa Park.
Arsenal’s strength is built on an incredibly sturdy defence and the 23-year-old showed against Villa why he is so highly rated among centre-backs throughout Europe.
Honourable mentions
David Raya – 7/10
Ollie Watkins might have had a tough time getting to sleep after his performance against the Gunners. The England striker had a couple of brilliant openings but couldn’t take advantage, first missing from close range before seeing a rebound clawed away from danger by the elastic David Raya.
The Golden Glove holder sprang back to his feet after Amadou Onana’s strike deflected onto the crossbar and into Watkins’ path, thrusting out an instinctive hand to keep the scores level at 0-0 shortly before Trossard bagged the opener.
Leandro Trossard – 7/10
Leandro Trossard has developed a reputation as Arsenal’s super sub and he enhanced it some more as he scored quickly after his introduction against Villa.
Gabriel Martinelli had been ineffective on the left wing and was somewhat immediately shown up by the Belgium international, who kept his cool to find the corner from the edge of the box from Bukayo Saka’s assist.
Trossard came up with the goods frequently towards the end of the 2023/24 season and will be demanding a start next week when the Gunners take on Brighton & Hove Albion, having been named on the bench for the first two games of the season.
Kai Havertz – 5/10
Kai Havertz looked as sharp as anything in Arsenal’s Premier League opener, scoring and assisting as the north London giants overcame Wolves 2-0. His link-up play was precise and his finishing crisp at the Emirates Stadium, but he was less influential on Saturday night.
The Germany international diverted his only shot wide and lost possession on a couple of occasions. It was a quiet evening for the 25-year-old, but he deserves the chance to stay in Arteta’s starting XI having turned things around after an inauspicious start at his new club.
Dishounarable mention
Gabriel Martinelli – 5/10
While Havertz might get the chance to improve on his performance next week, Gabriel Martinelli might not be so lucky.
The Brazilian was on the fringes on the game before his withdrawal in the 65th minute. Trossard, his direct replacement, scored only a few moments later to embolden his claims for a starting spot at Martinelli’s expense.
The 23-year-old hasn’t supplied a goal contribution in the first two games and may be cut from the lineup next week on the basis of this performance.
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