Aston Villa player ratings vs Arsenal: two 'shocking' 3/10s as Unai Emery's side humbled at the Emirates

Aston Villa’s remarkable 11-game winning streak came to an abrupt end as Premier League leaders Arsenal proved their title pedigree, thrashing Unai Emery’s side 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium.

The Villans largely went toe-to-toe with the Gunners in the first half and could have gone ahead had Ollie Watkins put his 13th-minute opportunity away. Ezri Konsa pounced to dispossess Viktor Gyokeres and did brilliantly to dribble forward, playing in Watkins. But Villa’s number 11 fluffed his lines, scuffing wide of the near post.

It was an embarrassing second half that followed as Villa were torn to shreds, kick-started by Gabriel’s header from a Bukayo Saka corner upon his long-awaited return from injury. Emiliano Martinez had to do so much better as he lost out in his duel with the goalscorer, flapping the ball before Gabriel bundled it into the net with his thigh.

Martin Zubimendi ruthlessly doubled the Gunners’ lead just a few minutes later, tucking cooly past Martinez. Martin Odegaard dispossessed Sancho and played an exquisite through pass to Zubimendi, who used the outside of his boot to find the bottom right-hand corner.

Odegaard had a big chance to make it 3-0 just after the hour mark but Martinez made a top save to deny the Norwegian. It wasn’t enough for Martinez to make absolute amends for his earlier mistake but it was a brilliant stop nonetheless.

Trossard then did triple Arsenal’s advantage, with a little help from VAR. The Belgian was teed up by Jurrien Timber just inside the box and whipped fiercely into the near side netting. It was initially disallowed by Darren England for a Piero Hincapie offside, however VAR intervened after a lengthy check.

Then, to rub salt in Villa’s stinging wounds, Gabriel Jesus came off the bench with a bang to make it four. It took merely one minute for the Brazilian to curl into the bottom right from a Trossard cut-back. Villa substitute Andres Garcia missed his interception, allowing Trossard to advance down the left.

Villa scored a consolation goal in stoppage time as Watkins, on his 30th birthday, poked home from close range after a determined dribble to the byline from Donyell Malen. Just a few moments earlier, Watkins had struck the post with a header and McGinn was remarkably denied by Raya on the follow-up.

Here’s how the Villa players rated on a disappointing night in north London.

Goalkeeper and defence ratings

Emiliano Martinez: At fault for Gabriel’s goal as he completely misjudged the flight of Saka’s corner. Made a good save from Odegaard but it wasn’t enough to make up for his earlier error. Will be disappointed to have conceded a further three on his worst night of the season so far. 3

Lamare Bogarde: Came in for a rare start at right-back and flattered to deceive. Bogarde looked good to begin with but really dwindled as the game went on. Villa missed Matty Cash’s presence. 5

Ezri Konsa: The best of a bad bunch at the back, Konsa made his fair share of clearances and blocks. He also created the big chance for Watkins early on after brilliantly dispossessing Gyokeres. 6

Victor Lindelof: Didn’t do too badly against Gyokeres but was a passenger for many of Arsenal’s counter-attacks as he failed to deal with the runners in behind. That was the case for Zubimendi’s goal in particular. Lindelof also got away with what looked like a clear handball in the box. 4

Lucas Digne: Had a shocking return to the XI as he couldn’t deal with Saka and Timber. To make matters worse, Digne made an error for Trossard’s goal as his dodgy touch went straight to Timber, who assisted the scorer. 3

Midfield and attack ratings

Amadou Onana (off 46’): Caused all sorts of problems with his powerful dribbling on the transition. Received treatment in the 27th minute and didn’t make it out for the second half, however. 7

Youri Tielemans (off 82’): Picked out Rogers with an outrageous 70-yard through pass in the opening quarter of an hour. Lacked creativity from that point on, though, especially in the second 45. 6

Emiliano Buendia (off 61’): Back in the lineup after a few benchings, Buendia hardly made any inroads on the left flank. It wasn’t a surprise to see him hooked. 5

Morgan Rogers (off 82’): Rogers blanked for a second successive outing. The attacking midfielder had a couple of pop shots and some promising runs in the first half, but he struggled in the second. He was also booked for delaying an Arsenal restart. 5

Jadon Sancho (off 61’): Tasked with doing defensive duties at times and struggled to keep Trossard at bay, affording the winger time and space to cross. Sancho was really disappointing ahead of Zubimendi’s goal as he allowed Odegaard to chop in and dispossess him. 4

Ollie Watkins: Scored late on, but it wasn’t even any consolation. Missed a massive chance in the 13th minute, skewing wide. Had he scored that, it could’ve been a different story. Watkins also tried to find the far corner a few minutes after his miss, but he didn’t trouble Raya. 6

Substitutes ratings

John McGinn (on 46’): The skipper was unable to get any real grip in the game as he failed to live up to Onana’s first half. McGinn won’t want to see his miss again as he fired straight at Raya from point-blank range. It was worth a stunning 0.93xG. 4

Andres Garcia (on 61’): Mistimed his interception and then out of possession as Trossard crossed in for Jesus’ goal to make it 4-0. Garcia failed to make up for that. 5

Donyell Malen (on 61’): Assisted Watkins’ late goal with a brilliant dribble past several Arsenal defenders. Malen was unlucky not to score the goal himself. 6

George Hemmings, Jamaldeen Jimoh Aloba (on 82’): N/A.