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Aston Villa v Arsenal: 3 things learned as Arsenal suffer back-to-back losses

By Megan Garbutt

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 06: Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa scores his team's first goal past Mat Ryan of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park on February 06, 2021 in Birmingham, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 06: Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa scores his team's first goal past Mat Ryan of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park on February 06, 2021 in Birmingham, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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Arsenal
Mat Ryan of Arsenal (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

After a disappointing loss to Wolves on Tuesday with nine men, Arteta’s side were looking to bounce back with a win against Dean Smith’s Villain’s who had come off a 3-1 loss to West Ham who currently lie in the top 6

Ollie Watkins opened the scoring in the second minute against an Arsenal side who weren’t playing any promising football and couldn’t handle the constant press from Villa.

Arsenal had plenty more of the ball in the second half and created plenty of chances, but Villa’s defence made every block and clearance possible to deny the Gunners and former Arsenal keeper Emiliano Martinez was prominent in goal throughout.

There are a lot of things Arsenal need to take from this game. Here are the three talking point I’ve chosen to discuss…

Arsenal’s Mat Ryan proves he’s second to Bernd Leno

Despite conceding early on at Villa Park, Arsenal loanee Mat Ryan had a good game in goal for the Gunners and made a string of good saves to deny Villa scoring more than just the one.

He made a total of seven saves to deny the likes of Watkins and Ross Barkley throughout the game who were threatening in front of goal till the final whistle.

Ryan, who is on loan from Brighton had a 100% accurate pass success, which was the highest of any player on the pitch and his distribution was promising, with his two long balls both being accurate and he certainly kept his side from going three or four-nil down.

On his debut for the Gunners, Ryan was certainly one of the best Arsenal players on the pitch and has certainly proved himself to be a strong keeper and his concentration throughout the game is most definitely a key aspect of a keepers game.

Alex Runarsson must prove himself in training if he wants to be chosen over the Australian if, but with a convincing debut like that, it will take a lot for Arteta to chose Runarsson over Ryan who already has plenty of experience in the Premier League.

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