Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa (Jesus 30, Martinelli 77′ | Luiz 74′)
EMIRATES STADIUM — His face betrayed not a flicker of emotion. Beneath the icy façade Steven Gerrard was broiling. The equalising goal he was celebrating just minutes earlier was stripped of consequence by a rapid Arsenal counter. This monument of a player at Liverpool is a manager in trouble at Aston Villa. The fans are on his back. His team lacks identity. And Erling Haaland’s lethal gaze is trained on Villa Park next.
No sample is small enough in the Premier League. One win in five at the start of this season might not have carried the jeopardy it does were it not for what had come before. Assailed from all sides by Villans fed up with unimaginative, flat football that has yielded just 11 wins in 32 matches since his arrival from Rangers, Gerrard desperately needed to take a chunk out of the Premier League’s only 100 per cent-ers.
A negative result against Manchester City on Saturday will have the Gerrard out chorus ringing ever louder in the ears of Villa chief executive Christian Purslow. Despite a fondness for Gerrard that goes back to their shared days at Anfield, Purslow cannot be happy with the leaden football played under the once swashbuckling midfielder.
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Player ratings
Arsenal
Ramsdale 7, White 6 (Tomiyasu 5), Saliba 7, Gabriel 7, Tierney 7, Lokonga 6, Xhaka 6, Saka 6 (Holding5), Odegaard 7 (Smith Rowe 5), Martinelli 7, Jesus 8 (Nketiah 5)
Aston Villa
Martinez 6, Cash 6, Konsa 6, Mings 5, Digne 5, Ramsey 6, Kamara 5 (Ings 5), McGinn 6 (Luiz 7), Buendia 5 Coutinho 5), Watkins 5, Bailey 7
It takes a lot to put Gerrard on the seat of his pants but Emi Buendia managed it with another errant pass. Shaking his head, Gerrard spun on the heels of his shiny city shoes and headed straight for the bench. One of the many difficulties Gerrard is finding is how to get a turn out of his No 10s. Philippe Coutinho made way for Buendia here after his own underwhelming contributions this term. Though Buendia runs about the paddock a lot none of it is convincing. And like many of his team-mates, Buendia appears terrified of making a mistake and as a consequence makes plenty.
It could be worse. He could be Tyrone Mings. Mings is no chicken, yet he was as helpless as one when Gabriel Jesus stole into the Villa coop like the fox he is to wreak havoc. Mings, the principal conduit for the anger and frustrations of his struggling manager, was just too slow to react when Emiliano Martinez spilled the ball. On his toes, Jesus left Mings wading through treacle to poach the simplest of goals.
Mings is all you want in a defender when the ball is in the air or the action is in front of him. When he has to react to a random variable like the one presented by Martinez, the body of Apollo is more hindrance than help. Neither Mings nor Buendia would hear the final whistle.
Gerrard looked on arms folded, a manager struggling to impact events. What he needed was 10 minutes of himself at his peak driving at the Arsenal defence with those marauding runs that defined him. Villa were marginally more menacing after the break, finding the net via Douglas Luiz. Gerrard celebrated with a double-fisted salute only to walk into a body blow from Gabriel Martinelli three minutes later.
Five out of five confirmed Arsenal as the champions of August. They have been feeding on easy meat thus far. Sunday’s visit to Old Trafford ought to tell us more about the potential of Arsenal to keep City honest.
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