Bukayo Saka’s goal shortly before the hour mark was enough to help champions Arsenal preserve their perfect start to the season, as they secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Match Report
Saka broke the deadlock in the 59th minute, finishing Riccardo Calafiori’s cutback to settle a closely fought contest. Villa, meanwhile, are still without a shot on target this season.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal remain one of four sides with a 100% record, alongside Manchester City, Hull City and Chelsea. Villa, however, sit joint-bottom with Tottenham as they approach what could be a hectic final stretch of the transfer window.
Villa created the first real opening in the 12th minute after hesitation in Arsenal’s defence, with the hosts believing Boubacar Kamara had been fouled. Emiliano Buendia took advantage and fired towards goal, beating David Raya, but his effort struck the top of the crossbar.
Calafiori later saw a glancing header drift over the bar, while Arsenal struggled to seriously test Villa debutant goalkeeper Zion Suzuki during the opening 45 minutes.
Villa also failed to trouble Raya, with Ian Maatsen cutting in from the left before curling his effort comfortably wide.
Maatsen had another chance shortly after the restart, but his attempt to catch Raya out at the near post was badly executed and flew into the Holte End.
The Villa left-back was then fortunate not to concede a penalty after getting tangled with Saka. Referee Jarred Gillett initially awarded a spot-kick, but VAR intervened and the decision was reversed after determining the foul had taken place outside the box.
Martin Odegaard nearly found the net from the resulting free-kick, but Arsenal soon got their breakthrough. Substitute Eberechi Eze released Calafiori down the left side of the penalty area, and the defender’s cutback was swept beyond Suzuki by Saka.
Suzuki needed two attempts to hold Kai Havertz’s powerful effort, but the game produced little attacking excitement in the closing stages. Arsenal substitute Ezri Konsa, who joined from Villa just 10 days earlier, enjoyed a quiet debut despite receiving a mixed reception from his former supporters.
A late penalty appeal from Bruno Guimaraes and a confrontation between John McGinn and Gabriel Magalhaes were the only notable moments during an extended period of stoppage time, as both sides continued their contrasting starts to the campaign.
Villa pose little threat as Arteta celebrates 250 in style
After also failing to register a shot on target during their disappointing 4-0 defeat at Brighton on the opening matchday, Villa have become only the second team on record, since 2003-04, to go without a shot on target in each of their first two Premier League games. Swansea City suffered the same fate in 2017-18.
Villa are also the first English top-flight side since Queens Park Rangers in 1976-77 to lose their opening two matches after finishing in the top four the previous season without scoring.
Villa eventually recovered from a difficult beginning to the 2025-26 campaign after failing to score in their opening four Premier League fixtures. Unai Emery will therefore hope new signing Nicolas Jackson and the expected arrival of Paris Saint-Germain youngster Ibrahim Mbaye can provide a boost. Mbaye watched the match from the stands alongside another Villa target, Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
Arsenal, meanwhile, continue their impressive ability to secure narrow victories. This was their 14th 1-0 Premier League win across the last three seasons, six more than any other side.
The victory also gave Arteta an ideal way to mark a significant milestone, as he became only the second individual to both play at least 250 Premier League matches (284) and manage 250 games, following Mark Hughes, who played 297 and managed 466.
Arteta is also just the 10th manager in Premier League history to reach 250 matches with one club. Among managers with at least 250 games, only Pep Guardiola (70.8%), Alex Ferguson (65.2%) and Jurgen Klopp (62.6%) have recorded a higher win percentage than Arteta’s 60.4% (W151 D48 L51).
