Talking points as Arsenal cruise to win at Aston Villa

Published 12/13/2015, 11:26 AM EST

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It was Arsenal who recorded a comfortable 2-0 win over a jittery and flimsy Aston Villa at Villa Park to soar to the summit of the Premier League. Eight minute penalty won by Theo Walcott, after being brought down by Alan Hutton, was fired into the right hand side bottom corner from the penalty spot. A series of high flying tackles made the encounter a physical one but Arsenal continued to attack wave after wave and finally broke off on the counter for Ozil to provide an assist for Ramsey.

Let’s take a look at the Talking points from the game.

5. Arsenal can play physical

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via Imago

For anyone who saw the match would easily concur the fact that it was Remi Garde’s strategy to play a physical game so that Arsenal don’t settle on the ball. But it seemed like Arsene Wenger was ready for it and organised his midfield accordingly with Ramsey not backing down from lunging into tackles. Arsenal dealt a huge blow to an already weak Villa side winning a penalty which saw frustration erupt from Villa players thereafter. But Arsenal dealt well with the situation to see off a comfortable win.

4. Villa without belief

via Imago

It’s been 16 games in the Premier League up until now and Aston Villa haven’t put a foot in the right direction, home or away. The key to getting out of the relegation zone is to have the right attitude in every game. Villa should play like they have nothing to lose. They’re already at the bottom of the table and that too by a huge margin. But they still seem to play with a handbrake whenever going forward which is driving the fans crazy. No doubt they’re desperately missing Fabian Delph and Christian Benteke but they should’ve replaced them with equally capable players having received huge amounts of money from their sale. Their inability to do so has now come back to haunt them.

Maybe a couple of January signings can turn things around?

3. Nervy second half for the Gunners

via Imago

A magnificent first half for the North-London outfit was enough to guarantee them a win but they looked terribly off the pace in the second half as Villa picked up pace. It was a boring second half from a neutral point of view but Villa gathered some confidence to bomb forward as Arsenal looked like defending their early lead. They could’ve killed the game off with a third goal but they lost all interest in creating chances. The decision could’ve been troublesome but Villa never really looked dangerous. Killing the game off could’ve been vital for their confidence as they face Manchester City next week who too are not in good form.

2. Villa completely stranded but can still do it

via Imago

As for Aston Villa, they find themselves stuck at the bottom of the table 6 points behind 19th places Sunderland. If there’s one team whom in everybody’s opinion are the favourites to get relegated, it’s Aston Villa. But they still have plenty of time to turn it around and the next couple of fixtures could prove to be pivotal to their season. They play Newcastle next week who themselves are facing a relegation battle and a positive result could be the start to a crucial run that will define their season. They face all of the bottom teams until 2nd January and if they can replicate a performance like today’s second half and get to the end of things, they will certainly prevail victorious.

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1. Arsenal go top

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Looking at the opposite side of the league table, Arsenal go top of the table, a point clear from Manchester City whom they face next week with Leicester still to play their game against Chelsea tomorrow night. This title race will yet again go down to the wire and it is just what the Gunners need before they face another strong title contender in Manchester City. It would also provide much needed composure to finish their year on a high. The return of Alexis Sanchez will only make things worse for City as the Chilean has a proven goalscoring record against them.

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But it’s the Premier League. Who knows what’s in store for us?

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Written by:

Dhruv George

14,311Articles

One take at a time

Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
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