Arsenal beat Aston Villa 1-0 at Villa Park on Monday (Aug 31), with Bukayo Saka’s 59th-minute goal sealing three points on Mikel Arteta’s 250th Premier League match in charge.
Arsenal’s official match report said the England forward finished from close range after a move involving half-time substitute Eberechi Eze and left-back Riccardo Calafiori. The result left the defending champions on two wins from two in the 2026/27 Premier League season.
Villa almost took the lead in the first half when Emiliano Buendia struck the woodwork, according to the same club report. Arsenal pressed through set pieces, with Declan Rice’s corners causing problems for Villa debutant goalkeeper Zion Suzuki.
SAKA SETTLES IT
Ten minutes into the second half, referee Jarred Gillett pointed to the spot after Ian Maatsen fouled Saka. A video assistant referee review ruled the foul was outside the box, and a free-kick was given instead. Martin Odegaard’s free-kick then hit the side netting.
The breakthrough followed soon after. Cristhian Mosquera found Eze, who rolled the ball to Calafiori. The Italian slid the ball across for Saka to tap beyond Suzuki, Arsenal said. It was Saka’s second Premier League goal in as many matches.
Arteta later brought on Mikel Merino and Bruno Guimaraes, who made his Premier League debut for Arsenal. Ezri Konsa, a former Villa defender, also debuted when he replaced Mosquera for the final 12 minutes.
ARTETA’S 250TH
Arteta described the result as a squad victory after the final whistle. “Extremely happy,” he said on arsenal.com. “It’s a really tough place to come and win, when we came here last year, and we lost with the last kick of the game. I think we still had that in our tummies.”
“I would define it as a squad victory – I think everybody contributed in a really great way,” Mr Arteta said. On the milestone, he added: “I’m extremely grateful. It starts to be a big number! So I’m really grateful for all the support, the love that I feel from all of them, and yeah, really great to celebrate with a win.”
Arsenal’s match report said Mr Arteta became the second person to both play and manage at least 250 Premier League games, after Mark Hughes. The club also noted that Villa finished the match without a shot on target.
WHAT’S NEXT
Arsenal next host Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on Sunday (Sep 6), with kick-off listed at 4.30pm UK time (11.30pm Singapore time) on the club website. The Gunners then travel to Napoli on Wednesday (Sep 9) for their Champions League campaign.
