Trossard again ole, ole, ole as Arsenal win in front of outstanding Gooner support at Villa

Seven Takeaways from Villa: A good day out was had by all as Arsenal made it two wins on the bounce in front of loyal Gooners, as Ben White booted the ball at McGinn as an added bonus

Hello, happy Sunday!

And what a happy Sunday it is after Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday evening.

Sunday morning’s spent basking in the afterglow of a Gunners victory are always enjoyable.

Not least for re-watching Ben White blasting at the ball at perennial annoyance John McGinn.

As someone said on social media, ‘every friendship group needs a Ben White.’

The magnificent travelling support hail the victorious Arsenal team at the final whistle at Villa. CREDIT:

Layth (@laythy29)

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Villa Park takeaway

1 - Magnificent away support

The travelling Gooners were superb, once again. From my vantage point in the Trinity Road Stand opposite, the limbs after both goals were outstanding. As was the vocal support throughout the game. You love to see it.

The Arsenal on tour at Villa. CREDIT:

Layth (@laythy29)

2 - Competition for places

Trossard ole, ole, ole has been firmly embedded in what’s left of my brain as a music wormhole. I’ve even been teaching the dog the words. If you want to win the league you need two top quality players competing in every position. And that’s what we’ve got. I noted as soon as Gabi Martinelli lost the ball along the wing in front of me in the Trinity Road on around 65 minutes, I thought Mikel Arteta would bring on Trossard for our young Brazilian. And it so it came to pass. About a minute later.

What I didn’t think would happen was for the Belgium international to score with his first kick, with such an excellent strike. No wonder he pulled that mock annoyed face at being on the bench instead of starting, when everyone else around him went mental.

Trossard, ole, ole, ole…

3 - Trossard, ole, ole, ole

Speaking of which. I seem to recall Trossard being more than annoyed during the Euros when being benched.

I covered the Belgium vs Romania Euro 2024 clash in Cologne, when Trossard looked distinctly underwhelmed after compatriot Dodi Lukebakio started the match instead of him, prior to coming on for the ineffectual Sevilla attacker during their 2-0 win.

I also seem to recall Trossard not being best pleased when he failed to come on at all, when I also covered Belgium’s 1-0 defeat to France in Dusseldorf in the Round of 16.

The thing is, I actually really like players who get annoyed when they aren’t picked.

So long as it’s respectful, and any tantrums are kept in-house (Raheem Sterling, anyone?) then it simply means the player in question is desperate to play. And that’s a good thing.

If you can throw in a bit of humour as Trossard did at Villa during his deliberately low-key demeanour moment after his goal, then even better.

That said, I think he’s earned the right to start against Brighton, instead of Gabi, don’t you?

4 - Ben White booting the ball at McGinn

Ben White booting the ball at McGinn struck a chord with so many Gooners, on so many levels.

Firstly, McGinn is an annoying character. I still recall him giving it large for Scotland with an anti-England diatribe, prior to them benign shellacked by Germany, Kai Havertz and all, which simply underlined the paucity of their talent, as the worst team in the entire tournament. Yet, still he failed to pack in his pathetic anti-Three Lions agenda. That’s why I smiled when White did that.

White’s actions also showcased the spirit de corps that runs through this splendid Arsenal squad. All the best Gunners sides of the past had it. Meaning, if you attack one of us, you attack all of us, and in which case, be prepared for the consequences. Which, at Villa Park was a boot of the ball.

Also, I have to say, it reminded me of playing football. Either in training, or in games, when you, or a teammate simply has enough of someone, and decides to whack the ball as hard as you can against them, for a bit of fun. Or maybe even for something slightly more annoying. I love it. Absolutely love to see it.

5 - The reaction to William Saliba’s last-gasp saving tackle

Such a reaction spoke volumes about how important it is for the backline to keep clean sheets, and perform consistently well for the entire match. Long may it continue, even if you can expect the Arsenal-haters to start sneering at the perfectly valid behaviour in high fiving a teammate for producing such defensive excellence.

Such behaviour is also just another reason why I am convinced Arsenal will win the Premier League this season

6 - Match of the Day…

Watching a rerun of Motd on a Sunday morning used to be a real delight. It still is to a certain extent, even if I feel their bias is becoming a little too pronounced.

Firstly, - and I thought it was just me, but the reaction to my social media post during Sunday’s repeat post proved otherwise - after I found their opening credits featured far too little of Arsenal Football Club. Clearly many of you thought so too.

Then, during their post-match analysis, they focused on ‘how good’ Villa were in the opening 45 minutes. Well, that’s like saying the Titanic had a great journey from Belfast to Southampton. It didn’t tell the full story.

Yes, I know the show is constrained by only having two or three minutes in which to analyse key points in the game, which is exactly why focussing on Villa keeping Arsenal out through an obdurate defensive structure isn’t really headline news. Especially when we ultimately beat them 2-0.

It seemed that they spoke about what the winning team did well, in every other game they showed bar Arsenal at Villa. Whereas for our game, they simply spoke about Unai Emery’s defensive mindset in helping keep the score goalless at the break. A valid observation if you’ve got an hour to discuss tactics, but simply not good enough if you’ve only got 120 seconds. But then again, at least Jermaine Jenas isn’t there any more….

7 - David Raya

For long spells last season I wasn’t convinced David Raya was the man for the job. Not least because he had usurped one of my favourite players in Aaron Ramsdale. I also felt, that even when the former Brentford loanee started to fully adapt to the demands of playing for a title chasing side, I didn’t feel he could win games, rather than simply do his job.

On Saturday at Villa Park, he made a save that will be repeated for many years. It also earned points for Arsenal by keeping the score 0-0 at a critical juncture in the match.

Here’s to more plenty more excellence from Arsenal’s No1.

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