Arsenal can spend another few days admiring the view. They remain top, yet to drop a point, and continue to rack up the early-season wins while rivals falter. The narrow margin of victory flattered a largely woeful, shapeless Aston Villa but the very fact of it will cheer Mikel Arteta.
When Douglas Luiz cancelled out Gabriel Jesus’s opener 16 minutes from time with a bizarre goal direct from a corner, the leaders found their mettle tested for the second consecutive home match. They responded almost immediately with a winner from Gabriel Martinelli, whose performances have stepped up a notch this term, and it was the least they deserved. If points were being won in such circumstances a few months from now, it might be described as the stuff of champions.
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