Raya’s brilliance allows Arsenal to put down marker

Arsenal’s match at Aston Villa may have been only their second of the new Premier League season, but for manager Mikel Arteta it groaned under the weight of significance.

Arsenal and Arteta are now painfully aware of the levels of perfection required to cross the bridge from second place to champions, having fallen short to Manchester City in the past two seasons.

And if there is one opponent guaranteed to bring that task into even sharper focus it is Aston Villa, who inflicted the biggest damage on the Gunners’ title aspirations with a league double last season.

The loss at Villa Park in December came only days after Manchester City suffered a similar fate in this hostile environment.

It was the 2-0 defeat by Villa at Emirates Stadium in mid-April that effectively ended Arsenal’s chances, handing the initiative back to Pep Guardiola’s side with inevitable results.

So Arsenal wanted to make an early statement of intent while proving lessons have been learned and the improvements required – in this case, actually beating Aston Villa – are in place.

It was achieved in a 2-0 win that was a mixture of grit, good fortune and moments of brilliance, namely goalkeeper David Raya’s stunning second-half save from Ollie Watkins, with the score goalless, that proved to be the game’s pivotal moment.

Watkins, uncharacteristically wasteful in front of England interim manager Lee Carsley, had already fired a golden chance wide in the first half when he thought his moment of redemption had arrived after 54 minutes.

Watkins was perfectly placed to score with a diving header when Amadou Onana’s shot bounced out after deflecting on to the bar off Gabriel. Raya was grounded and stranded at his right-hand post. The finish looked a formality.

Instead, Raya recovered brilliantly, springing to his left to make a magnificent one-handed save, special not just for the execution but for the way he retrieved his position and refused to give up what looked like a lost cause.

Raya said: “Everyone is a hero because we work together. It’s not just me saving the ball. It was a crucial moment in the game when it was 0-0. They had chances and I was there.

“I’m on the floor so I try to get up and I can’t reach it. I just see Ollie going in so I react quickly. It’s just a repetition of things. You do drills and have to save one ball and get up to save another. This time it paid off. It was a reaction one. I don’t think it’s my best save.”

Watkins should have scored but take nothing away from Raya, showing once again why Arteta ruthlessly moved England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale aside last season.

On such moments, matters can be decided. And so it proved.

And in matches of such fine margins, the vital signs are always examined for the qualities that can make champions.

Arsenal produced them by cashing in on Raya’s work to carve out a win that will taste especially sweet after the treatment meted out to them by Villa last season.

Arteta’s changes also made a difference. Leandro Trossard gave them a 67th-minute lead against the run of play, producing a smooth right-foot finish past Villa keeper Emi Martinez to score with his first touch after replacing Gabriel Martinelli.

It is almost impossible to move at Villa Park without hearing Argentina’s World Cup-winning keeper celebrated as “the world’s number one” but he momentarily flouted the lofty billing with a desperately weak attempt to save Thomas Partey’s shot 10 minutes later. That doubled Arsenal’s advantage to confirm a win of huge importance.

Forget that this is only Arsenal’s second game. The celebrations at the end between Arteta, his players and their fans gave a measure of what it meant.

Arsenal were nowhere near the top of their game, often lacking fluency, but the old adage states that any team with designs on the big prizes wins when short of their best. This applied here.

The Gunners still occasionally look like a team in need of a reliable finisher but they can make that argument redundant when they still have so many goals in their side. Whether Arteta addresses the issue before the transfer window closes remains to be seen.

Villa will feel their wounds were self-inflicted and that defeat was harsh, with plenty to encourage the passionate home support, whose expectations were tangible throughout as they look forward to Champions League football this season.

They had arguably the game’s outstanding performer in Morgan Rogers, the 22-year-old showing his great potential by occasionally over-powering Arsenal with his surging runs, allied to an ability to overcome challenges with the quality of his dribbling.

In the end, though, this was Arsenal’s day.

The Gunners may not have been the better team. Indeed, for periods, they were pushed back and uncomfortable. But this was a win they desired desperately, achieved in the manner that will have delighted Arteta for the character and steel on show.