​Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal: Saka goal keeps champions perfect as Emery's men misfire

Bukayo Saka scored as Arsenal beat Aston Villa 1-0 to make it two wins from two Premier League games, leaving Unai Emery's team still waiting on their first point of 2026-27.

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 champions are one of four teams to maintain a perfect record, alongside Manchester City, Hull City and Chelsea, Villa are 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, who 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 were 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.

Villa pose little threat as Arteta celebrates 250 in style

Having also failed to hit the target in their dismal 4-0 loss at Brighton on matchday one, Villa are just the second team on record (since 2003-04) to not have a shot on target in their first two games of a Premier League season (also Swansea City in 2017-18).

Villa are also the first English top-flight team to follow up a top-four finish by losing their first two games of the following season without scoring since 1976-77, when Queens Park Rangers did so.

Of course, Villa managed to turn around their 2025-26 campaign after failing to score in their first four Premier League matches, and Unai Emery will hope the signing of Nicolas Jackson and the imminent arrival of Paris Saint-Germain's Ibrahim Mbaye – who watched this game from the stands alongside fellow target Taylor Harwood-Bellis – will have an impact.

Arsenal, meanwhile, continue to grind out results – this was their 14th Premier League win by a 1-0 scoreline in the last three seasons, which is six more than any other club.

And Arteta will be delighted to celebrate the occasion with three points, having become just the second person to both play (284) and manage (250) at least 250 Premier League games, after Mark Hughes (played 297, managed 466).

He is only the 10th manager in Premier League history to oversee 250 games with a single club, and only Pep Guardiola (70.8%), Alex Ferguson (65.2%) and Jurgen Klopp (62.6%) have overseen at least 250 matches while bettering his 60.4% win rate (W151 D48 L51).