Saka’s goal gives Arsenal 1-0 win over Aston Villa at Villa Park

Bukayo Saka’s second-half strike gave Arsenal a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa at Villa Park in the Premier League on 31 August 2026, extending Arsenal’s winning start to the season. David Raya was relatively untroubled as Unai Emery’s side failed to score and came away beaten by the single goal.

Aston Villa used two debutants in their starting XI, Zion Suzuki and Nicolas Jackson, who took the Nos 1 and 11 vacated by Emiliano Martínez and Ollie Watkins respectively. Villa’s manager said in the buildup: “We do not look backwards.” The hosts received a warm reception for Ezri Konsa when he headed for the away dugout, while supporters chanted “Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that.” The stadium’s capacity was down to 37,000 and parts of the North Stand appeared as an excavation site.

Suzuki’s long passing was a notable feature of Villa’s early play, pinging 50-yard balls to the 19-year-old George Hemmings and John McGinn, who operated on opposite flanks. Ross Barkley partnered Boubacar Kamara at the base of midfield and Emi Buendía struck the crossbar after Kamara’s influence over Christos Tzolis. Nicolas Jackson created Villa’s clearest opening when he pinched possession from Gabriel Magalhães, drove into Arsenal territory and delivered a near-perfect cross that Hemmings could not convert.

Arsenal’s opening threats included an intricate move finished by Kai Havertz, whose shot went wide, and a period of sustained pressure in the second half that produced the decisive play. Cristhian Mosquera fed Eberechi Eze, who found Riccardo Calafiori on an underlapping run; Calafiori steered the ball across the six-yard box where Saka beat Ian Maatsen to the ball and scrambled the cross into the net.

Earlier in the second half Maatsen clipped Saka’s heels as the winger chased Declan Rice’s through ball and referee Jarred Gillett initially awarded a penalty. A VAR review showed the foul was outside the area, however, and the resulting free-kick from Martin Ødegaard was sent into the side netting. The match also saw Ødegaard subsequently ask questions of the referee, Jarred Gillett.

Villa pushed for an equaliser as the game wore on and made several changes, with Mikel Merino and Bruno Guimarães arriving from the bench while Alejandro Garnacho replaced Barkley and Aaron Wan-Bissaka came on for Matty Cash. Suzuki made a routine error on a save from Havertz but quickly corrected it by diverting a subsequent effort wide, and McGinn was booked for a foul on Merino as frustrations grew.

Ibrahim Mbaye, whose £47m move from Paris Saint-Germain is to be announced on Tuesday, was present in the directors’ box during the match. Villa have now lost their first two league matches of the season without scoring for the first time since 2002, while Arsenal’s victory extended their unbeaten start to the campaign.