Aston Villa v Arsenal: Key stats and talking points

Arsenal benefit from squad depth

While Villa’s midweek win was a roller coaster ride, Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Brentford was much simpler.

The Gunners were rarely troubled by the Bees, with the only effort on target they faced being a header from Kevin Schade, which was smartly saved by David Raya. The Londoners have now won 10 league matches this season, including eight without conceding a goal.

Arsenal were again without first-choice centre-backs William Saliba and Gabriel, and also lost Cristhian Mosquera to injury before half-time. Yet they managed to bring Dutch international Jurrien Timber off the bench to replace Mosquera, which is a testament to the squad depth they now have.

It’s a similar story to begin with. Injuries have sidelined Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus for almost the entire season, so the Gunners could be forgiven for being too reliant on summer signing Viktor Gyokeres to lead the line.

Instead, midfielder Mikel Merino excelled as a makeshift striker, scoring a well-taken header on Wednesday to make it eight goals in 18 starts as a number nine.

His key stats when playing center forward – shot conversion rate and minutes per goal – closely match those of Gyokeres. The Swede will likely return to Villa Park, but when he needs a rest, Merino offers him yet another high-quality option.