BIRMINGHAM: Mikel Arteta said Arsenal’s ability to kill off their Premier League rivals will be key to their title defence after Bukayo Saka sealed a 1-0 win against Aston Villa on Monday.

Saka netted with a close-range finish in the 59th minute at Villa Park to make it two successive victories at the start of the season for the champions.

Arteta was impressed with the way his side ground out a hard-fought success at a venue they lost in last season.

“Really happy, it’s a massive win. It’s a tough place to come and earn three points. I think we deserved it,” he said.

“We had a great performance. With 11, it wasn’t enough, the finishers came in and did a magnificent job to finish the game and win it.

“I know how tough it is to win here. Every big team has struggled against them because they are so good.”

Shortly after Saka had a penalty overturned by VAR, the England forward showed his predatory instinct to get on the end of Riccardo Calafiori’s low cross after he had been played in by substitute Eberechi Eze’s astute pass.

Arsenal are one of four teams to win their first two league games this term along with Manchester City, Chelsea and Hull City. Villa remain pointless and without a goal.

The Gunners host Chelsea on Sunday in a fascinating early test of both teams’ title credentials.

Arteta is confident Arsenal will be able to stay the course after finally winning the title for the first time in 22 years last season.

“Last year was the same. We know how difficult it is to earn points in this league,” he said.

“I always trust my players. The level depends on the moment as well. Last year, we lost here in a really difficult way. That was still in the tummy.”

Saka has scored in Arsenal’s first two games as the England winger makes amends for an injury-plagued end to last term.

“It’s not easy coming here, they made it hard for us. It feels even better to come out with the win,” he said.

“The way they defend, really compact and with a high line, they caught us offside. We had to adapt to that.

“One goal is normally enough for us because we are so solid at the back. All the full-backs, the way they play gives us a lot.

“For us wingers, it opens up the game for us, we’ve always got composure in the box. All the boys put in a shift tonight. It helps with a clean sheet.”

For Villa boss Unai Emery, who waved goodbye to Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martinez this week following the earlier departures of Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa, there were hopeful signs.

It was a huge improvement on last week when they were four goals down by halftime at Brighton and Hove Albion.

Villa have made 11 new signings during the summer and it will take time for Emery to rebuild the side but the Spaniard remained upbeat despite a second loss.

“We competed well against the team that is favourite to win the title,” he said. “We are rebuilding but there were a lot of positive things. We didn’t make clear chances but we did not concede clear chances.”

Villa will try to get off the mark when they face Hull on Saturday.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2026