Arsenal set new club record with narrow win at Aston Villa

Arsenal secured a 1-0 away victory over Aston Villa on Sunday in the second round of the English Premier League, continuing their strong start to the season. The only goal came in the 59th minute, when Bukayo Saka finished into the far bottom corner after being set up by Riccardo Calafiori.

Arsenal held more possession in the first half but failed to hit the target with any of their attempts. The best chance of the opening period fell to the hosts, as Emiliano Buendia struck the crossbar from the edge of the box in the 12th minute. Arsenal's Christos Zolis was booked in the 29th minute. Early in the second half, referee Jarred Gillett initially awarded Arsenal a penalty for a foul on Saka but overturned the decision after a VAR review.

Aston Villa, who lost longtime goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and forward Ollie Watkins over the summer, have now failed to register a single shot on target in their opening two league games of the season. It is only the second such occurrence in the Premier League since the 2003-04 season, following Swansea City's similarly poor start in 2017-18.

The win also set a new club record for Arsenal, marking the fifth consecutive season in which the champions have opened their away campaign with a clean-sheet victory. Separately, manager Mikel Arteta became only the second person in league history to have taken part in at least 250 Premier League matches both as a player and as a head coach, a feat previously achieved only by Mark Hughes.

After two rounds, Arsenal sit second in the table with a maximum of points, behind Manchester City, while Aston Villa remain bottom with none.