Saka seals Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Aston Villa

Bukayo Saka settled a tense match at Villa Park, bundling home Arsenal’s winning goal five minutes after a penalty decision against Aston Villa had been overturned by VAR.

Villa started brightly, with Emiliano Buendia hitting the crossbar from 20 yards and Ian Maatsen also coming close. Arsenal struggled to find their rhythm before halftime, prompting manager Mikel Arteta to bring on Eberechi Eze at the start of the second half.

The visitors appeared to have a penalty in the 54th minute after Saka went down under a challenge from Maatsen. VAR showed that the foul occurred outside the box, but Arsenal did not have to wait long for the breakthrough. Eze found Riccardo Calafiori, whose low cross reached Saka for the decisive finish.

Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki kept the hosts in the game by denying Kai Havertz. Arsenal then protected their advantage without major difficulty in the closing stages.

The defeat left Villa looking for their first points after two consecutive losses. They improved on the 4-0 defeat by Brighton but again struggled to create clear chances, recording no shots on target. Potential new signings Ibrahim Mbaye and Taylor Harwood-Bellis watched from the stands as Villa considered strengthening before the transfer window closes.