Arsenal supersub Leandro Trossard makes wasteful Aston Villa pay
A couple of games into the season Mikel Arteta must feel as though this really could be his year. Arteta knew his side were fortunate when Ollie Watkins missed a sitter in each half and Arsenal had just watched another Aston Villa chance go to waste. Then Arteta brought on Leandro Trossard, the quiet king of scoring big goals, and the substitute scored with his first touch to pave the way to an impressive victory. “Trossard again, ole ole,” sang the away support, a nod to the Belgian’s timely interventions against Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Manchester City and Wolves last season.
Thomas Partey doubled Arsenal’s advantage with a shot from the edge of Villa’s 18-yard box and while it was not plain-sailing, Arteta’s side ultimately could have won by a bigger margin. Martin Ødegaard, the Arsenal captain, skied a chance to make it three after 80 minutes, seconds after Ricardo Calafiori, signed from Bologna this summer, entered for his debut. Villa hampered Arsenal’s title hopes last season, beating them home and away, but this time they emerged victorious.
