Aston Villa vs Arsenal LIVE: Premier League result and final score as Bukayo Saka goal seals win

Follow for live reaction as Arsenal neat Aston Villa in the Premier League to strengthen their top-four claim

Bukayo Saka celebrates firing Arsenal in front (Getty Images)

Arsenal kept their top-four bid on track with a comfortable 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the Premier League. The Gunners saw their winning run come to an end with defeat to Liverpool at the Emirates in midweek and faced a short turnaround ahead of a potentially tricky trip to Villa Park, but they make simple work of the task at hand.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta had said the scheduling of his side’s meeting with Villa was “not fair” but victory now puts pressure on top-four rivals Manchester United, West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur and sees the Gunners strengthen their Champions League qualification hopes ahead of the rest of the weekend’s fixtures.

Aston Villa saw a run of three straight victories under Steven Gerrard come to an end at West Ham last Sunday, as Andriy Yarmolenko helped seal an emotional win for the Hammers. The form of Philippe Coutinho has helped take Villa into the top half of the table and Gerrard’s side hoped to get back to winning ways in front of their own fans, but it wasn’t to be.

Follow live reaction from Aston Villa vs Arsenal in the Premier League’s early fixture, below:

Aston Villa vs Arsenal

• Premier League match kicked off at 12.30pm GMT
• Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Young; Douglas Luiz, McGinn, Ramsey; Buendia, Coutinho, Watkins.
• Arsenal: Leno; Cedric Soares, White, Gabriel Magalhaes, Tierney; Odegaard, Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Lacazette, Smith Rowe.
• GOAL! Bukayo Saka fires Gunners in front (30), Villa 0-1 Arsenal
• Full-time: Villa 0-1 Arsenal

[19 March 2022 12:59 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal

26 min: Ollie Watkins is set through one on one against Cedric Soares but the defender holds his ground and concedes a corner. McGinn delivers an inswinger which is caught by Bernd Leno and the game is stopped as Kieran Tierney takes a whack on the head, but he’s fine to continue.

[19 March 2022 12:55 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal

Arsenal have had 56% of possession so far but it feels like an awful lot more. The Gunners continue to pin back Villa in their own half but still not breakthrough. In fairness to Villa, they’ve defending their own box pretty well and Martinez hasn’t had a lot to do.

[19 March 2022 12:52 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal

21 min: Ben White acrobatically cuts out a probing pass towards Ollie Watkins in the box, in a rare moment of worry for the Arsenal defence.

[19 March 2022 12:50 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal

19 min: Another nice piece of play by Arsenal involving Saka, Odegaard and Smith Rowe and several flicks and tricks, but they can’t quite combine to get a proper shot off. It is hard to tell whether Villa should be more worried that they are under so much pressure or Arsenal should be more concerned that they are failing to take advantage of this early spell.

Emile Smith Rowe wastes an early chance (Reuters)

[19 March 2022 12:48 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal

15 min: Emi Beundia makes a good dart in behind the Arsenal defence to receive a Philippe Coutinho pass but it’s just a fraction early and he’s offside.

[19 March 2022 12:44 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal

12 min: Arsenal have certainly been the better side so far. They look really composed on the ball and everyone seems to know exactly where they’re meant to be. Still lacking that killer opportunity on goal, however.

[19 March 2022 12:41 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal

9 min: At the other end there’s another sight of goal for Arsenal, again teed up by Odegaard, but this time it’s Partey who squanders the opportunity with a tame shot. A moment later Martinez is forced to make an excellent stop after Konsa deflects a cross towards his own goal.

[19 March 2022 12:40 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal

8 min: Cedric is penalised for blocking off Ashley Young on the edge of the box. The replay suggests it was a little soft but probably a foul, on balance. Villa free-kick from the left, taken by McGinn, is flicked away for a corner but that comes to nothing. Best moments for Villa so far.

[19 March 2022 12:36 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal

5 min: Some bite in the early tackles, not least from John McGinn who snaps in on Alexandre Lacazette to pinch the ball in the centre circle.

[19 March 2022 12:35 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal

Chance! Smith Rowe is teed up by Odegaard just inside the box but he lifts his shot over the bar when he should really have worked Emi Martinez. That all came from Saka burning Young around the outside on the right wing, which could become a theme if Villa are not careful.