How did match-winner Saka do at Villa Park?

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How did match-winner Saka do at Villa Park?

Bukayo SakaImage source, Getty Images
ByNick MashiterFootball reporter and Alex HowellFootball reporter
  • Published

Bukayo Saka’s winner gave Arsenal a narrow victory at Aston Villa.

Here’s how BBC Sport rated the players, and how you rated them.

Aston Villa starting XI

Zion Suzuki: A debut for the £30m goalkeeper from Parma who had no chance with the opening goal. He misjudged his first corner but his distribution caught the eye and will be useful this season. 7

Matty Cash: His usual solid display and got the better of Christos Tzolis, who was replaced at the break. 6

Pau Torres: Helped keep Arsenal at bay until they broke the deadlock in the second half. 6

Victor Lindelof: The Sweden international diligently tried to keep Arsenal in check. Has not let Villa down since arriving on a free transfer. 6

Ian Maatsen: With new signing Matteo Ruggeri on the bench, he has competition and had his hands full with Bukayo Saka, and was beaten to the ball for the goal. 6

Boubacar Kamara: The midfielder is so crucial to how Villa play and he offered an important shield to frustrate the Gunners until Saka’s opener. 7

Ross Barkley: The former Everton youngster has been given a second chance at Villa as they rebuild and tried to keep the hosts flowing. 6

John McGinn: The skipper drilled over and was his usual energetic self as Villa tried to unsettle Arsenal and did not drop his energy levels. 6

Emi Buendia: The Argentina international hit the bar early and was a good creative outlet for the hosts but could not find the killer touch. 6

George Hemmings: Villa rate the 19-year-old highly and he showed no fear against the champions. He threatened in the first half, especially with one low cross. 7

Nicolas Jackson: The £65m record signing will take time as he replaces Ollie Watkins but showed flashes of what he can bring. 6

Subs:

Tammy Abraham (on 71, Jackson): Included despite Ipswich trying to take him on loan, but could not find a leveller. 6

Alysson (on 71, Hemmings): The winger looked lively in his second-half cameo. 6

Alejandro Garnacho (on 78, Barkley): 5

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (on 78, Cash): 5

Subs not used: Bizot, Bogarde, Lynch, Mings, Ruggeri

Arsenal starting XI

David Raya: A reliable display from Raya. A good range of passing. 6

Ben White: He didn’t produce his usual overlapping runs as much but helped the Arsenal back four keep a clean sheet. 6

Cristhian Mosquera: The 22-year-old produced a solid performance next to the more experienced Gabriel. Had to come off with an injury in the second half. 6

Gabriel Magalhaes: A chance early on from an Arsenal corner which he headed over. The Brazilian led the Arsenal back four as they picked up three points. 7

Riccardo Calafiori: Picked up his usual adventurous positions when Arsenal were going forward and provided the assist for Saka’s goal. 8

Declan Rice: Assured in the middle of the pitch and covered a lot of ground. Some important interceptions and threatening set-pieces too. 6

Myles Lewis-Skelly: Continued his excellent start-of-season form. Comfortable when under pressure and played with a lot of responsibility. 7

Martin Odegaard: A couple of nice passes in the first half but not enough impact going forward. Went close with a free kick in the second half. 6

Bukayo Saka: The winger scored the vital goal for Arsenal. The Gunners were not at their best going forward but most of the good moments involved Saka. 8

Christos Tzolis: A disappointing night for the winger who worked hard but lacked quality when going forward. Taken off at half time. 4

Kai Havertz: It was a quieter night for Havertz but the forward still provided a focal point and held the ball up. 6

Subs

Eberechi Eze (on 46, Tzolis): Introduced at half time and played a big part in Saka’s goal. 7

Merino (on 71, Odegaard): Added bite into the Arsenal midfield. 6

Bruno Guimaraes (on 71, Lewis-Skelly): Came on for his Premier League debut. 6

Ezri Konsa (on 78, Mosquera): Made his first appearance for his new club. 6

Martin Zubimendi (on 85, Rice): Came on for Rice as Arsenal looked to see out the game. 5

Subs not used: Kepa, Hincapie, Gyokeres, Madueke.

How did you rate the players?

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Player of the match

Number: 33 R. Calafiori

Average rating 7.39
Number: 1 Z. Suzuki

Average Rating: 6.27

Number: 2 M. Cash

Average Rating: 5.74

Number: 10 E. Buendía

Average Rating: 5.66

Number: 7 J. McGinn

Average Rating: 5.61

Number: 14 Pau Torres

Average Rating: 5.60

Number: 6 R. Barkley

Average Rating: 5.58

Number: 11 N. Jackson

Average Rating: 5.57

Number: 3 V. Lindelöf

Average Rating: 5.54

Number: 8 B. Kamara

Average Rating: 5.51

Number: 22 I. Maatsen

Average Rating: 5.48

Number: 29 A. Wan-Bissaka

Average Rating: 5.40

Number: 53 G. Hemmings

Average Rating: 5.39

Number: 47 Alysson

Average Rating: 5.12

Number: 18 T. Abraham

Average Rating: 4.84

Number: 17 A. Garnacho

Average Rating: 4.54

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.

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