Aston Villa 2-1 Arsenal: Emi Buendia scores late winner to lift Villa into second

Arsenal’s match against Villa was a game that seemed to go under the radar due to the run of matches the Gunners had played before this one.

And the defeat to Emery will only highlight the problems which, despite Arsenal’s excellent start to the season, are increasing.

They have had to battle injuries to key players throughout the season and this game was no different with the news that Cristhian Mosquera had been ruled out around six weeks before the game.

This meant Jurrien Timber had to play at centre-back, with Ben White at right-back, which is how Arsenal’s defense found themselves in the win over Brentford in midweek.

White starting at right back and captain Odegaard moving back to midfield meant that White, Odegaard and Bukayo Saka were united on the right side of the Arsenal team.

The relationship between the three has been key to Arsenal’s attack in recent seasons and the majority of Arsenal’s play during the match took place on this side.

But Odegaard’s arrival in the team in the middle meant Eze was moved to the left wing, but in that position there were more defensive responsibilities to shoulder, and the England international went off for Cash’s goal.

Mikel Merino was brought off at half-time alongside Eze, and Trossard scored his sixth goal of the season. He continues to be one of Arsenal’s standout players this season.

The game was more open than Arteta would have liked and Arsenal missed the calmness of William Saliba and Gabriel and their presence in both areas.

Saturday’s match was only the fourth time since the start of the 2022-23 season that Arsenal started a league match without Saliba or Gabriel.

Buendia’s winner would probably have been treated better had both centre-backs been on the pitch, and, with six more games this month, Arteta will be hoping this is just an incident and not the start of a considerable dip in form.