Arsenal Secures Win at Villa Park Despite Mosquera Concern
Arsenal left Villa Park with three points, a clean sheet and one brief scare. The last of those, Mikel Arteta insisted, is nothing to worry about.
Cristhian Mosquera, withdrawn in the second half of the champions’ 1-0 win at Aston Villa on Monday night, is “fine” after feeling a problem and asking to come off. With Jurrien Timber already sidelined, the sight of another defender signalling to the bench briefly tightened a few Arsenal stomachs.
Arteta was in no mood to take chances.
“We knew that if we had an injury on the back line with Jurrien out, we'd be in big trouble – so we had to do Ezri,” he said, after Bukayo Saka’s second-half strike made it two wins from two in the Premier League. “Mosquera could not continue, so we know the depth has to be really big when we're fighting for four competitions in the manner that we play as well.
“He's fine, but he was feeling like he was about to have something, and that's why we have the bench that we have, and that's why we had to bring Ezri in.”
Konsa’s testing return
That decision handed a debut to Ezri Konsa in about as charged a setting as possible. Back at Villa Park, the former Aston Villa defender was greeted with jeers as he stepped onto the pitch in Arsenal colours.
Arteta admired how he handled it.
“Ezri makes a debut in really difficult circumstances; it's not easy emotionally to come here and play,” the Arsenal manager said. “But he looks so composed, so calm, so in control.”
The composure at the back mattered. This was not a flowing, dominant Arsenal display. It was something more stubborn, more pragmatic.
Arsenal registered their first effort on target shortly before the hour. It was enough. Calafiori slid the ball into Saka, and the England winger did the rest.
One chance. One goal. One ruthless reminder of why they are champions.
Calafiori’s grit over gloss
For Riccardo Calafiori, who supplied the assist, the performance was secondary. The result was everything.
“I'm so happy with the clean sheet,” the full-back said. “Especially when I talk with the guys – the defenders – I always say that if we don't concede, we obviously have much more chance to win the game, and I think we always do so well.
“At the end of the game, it's so important for us, especially at a tough place like this one, we just want to win when we come here and we did it.”
Villa Park has tested title contenders before. Arsenal did not sparkle, but they did not crack either.
Calafiori pointed to the shift in defensive steel since a shaky summer.
“In pre-season we were upset, I think we conceded too much, but then as the season started, we have all the players back,” he said. “We fight, and you see how we do mistakes sometimes, but how we track back with the runs, it's unbelievable, and each player, even the attackers, so I'm so happy.”
His pass to Saka brought his second assist of the campaign, another early marker of his influence on this side.
“I'm just so happy to pass the ball to B [Saka],” the Italy international added. “As I say, it was a tough, tough game, we need these kind of moments, you know, to change the game – and we did it.”
Two games, two wins, and a back line patched but holding. If this is Arsenal still finding their rhythm, what happens when they truly hit their stride?
