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Saka pounced from Riccardo Calafiori's cutback in the 59th minute, and his strike was enough to decide a tense encounter at Villa Park, with Villa still yet to register a shot on target this season.

While Mikel Arteta's champion is one of four teams to maintain a perfect record, alongside Manchester City, Hull City and Chelsea, Villa is joint bottom of the table alongside Tottenham, ahead of what is likely to be a busy end to the transfer window.

Some hesitation in the Arsenal backline, which felt Boubacar Kamara had committed a foul, allowed Emiliano Buendia to fire off the first threatening shot in the 12th minute. David Raya was beaten, but the Argentine's effort crashed off the top of the crossbar.

A glancing header from Calafiori then sailed over, and Arsenal never threatened debutant Zion Suzuki in the Villa goal throughout the first half. 

But Villa was similarly unable to work Raya at the other end, with Ian Maatsen curling comfortably wide after cutting inside from the left flank.

Maatsen also had the first opportunity of the second half, though his attempt to beat Raya at his near post was a wild one that spun into the Holte End. 

Villa's left-back almost conceded a penalty soon afterwards when he was involved in a tangle of legs with Saka. Referee Jarred Gillett pointed to the spot, only for that decision to be overturned when a VAR review found the foul occurred outside the area.

Martin Odegaard almost curled home from the resulting free-kick, but in any case, Arsenal did not have to wait long for their goal. Substitute Eberechi Eze slid Calafiori in on the left side of the area, and his cutback was turned past Suzuki by Saka.

Kai Havertz's drive was gathered by Suzuki at the second attempt, but the closing stages were distinctly lacking in goalmouth action, with Arsenal substitute Ezri Konsa – signed from Villa only 10 days ago – enjoying a comfortable debut after getting a mixed reception from his former fans.

A futile penalty appeal from Bruno Guimaraes and a flashpoint between John McGinn and Gabriel Magalhaes were the only notable incidents in a lengthy period of stoppage time, as the teams' contrasting starts to the season continued.