Aston Villa 0-3 Arsenal: The juggling act of Ozil and Welbeck

The two stars who are being criticized each contributed a goal and an assist, helping the "Gunners" win big in the fifth round of the Premier League today, September 20.

Victory for Arsenal was decided in the first half, when it took them just three minutes and 12 seconds to score all three goals.

Arsenal extended their unbeaten run at Villa Park in the Premier League to 16 games, with Mesut Ozil (in yellow) providing plenty of inspiration. Photo: Empics.

Welbeck and Ozil were the two main players in that quick victory of the team from London. The German midfielder opened the score in the 33rd minute from Welbeck's assist, then returned the favor, setting up the English striker to double the gap just a minute later. The goal that sealed the 3-0 result for Arsenal came in the 36th minute, when home defender Aly Cissokho clumsily kicked an own goal after a very annoying low pass from Kieran Gibbs.

The result at Villa Park today means Aston Villa's unbeaten run (three wins, one draw) that had made them the Premier League's surprise package through the opening four rounds ended. Arsenal, meanwhile, picked up their second win of the season, ending a disappointing run of three draws between rounds two and four.

Today's humiliating defeat brought Aston Villa back down to earth after a short period of flying high, bringing coach Paul Lambert's team back to their true value - an erratic team. As for Arsenal, a victory, however easy, is not enough to confirm that they have truly returned to the status of a giant, a championship candidate. The three full points taken at Villa Park are probably just a painkiller, helping Wenger's team to calm down after the 0-2 loss to Dortmund in the Champions League in the middle of the week, as well as the previous three consecutive draws in the Premier League.

However, if Arsenal have to find a reason to be excited and optimistic about the long and thorny road ahead, they can find it in Ozil and Welbeck. These are two of the players in whom Wenger has placed the most hope, but who have also disappointed him and Arsenal fans the most before the match at Villa Park today.

The disappointment over Ozil - the club's most expensive signing - has lasted since last season and shows no signs of ending. Welbeck, a £26.5 million investment from Man Utd on the last day of the summer transfer window, has been mocked as a "slingshot" compared to the "cannon" Van Persie that Arsenal sold to Man Utd two years earlier.

The defeat to Dortmund was where both Ozil and Welbeck pushed their frustration to the peak. The German star played poorly and looked redundant when he had to move out to play on the wing in Wenger's 4-1-4-1 system. Welbeck drove the "Gunners" fans crazy when he missed the best chances, which if he had taken advantage of, Arsenal very likely would not have lost in Westfallen.

However, at Villa Park today, both players appeared in a completely different image, one closer to the expectations that Arsenal placed on them. Welbeck showed his power, bravery and keen observation in the striker position, while Ozil rediscovered the elegance and efficiency of his early days from Real to Arsenal.

Before his exquisite through ball for Ozil to open the scoring, Welbeck had another beautiful flying finish from a free kick. The former Man Utd striker then showed the beauty of simplicity and precision by getting in at the right time, receiving a cross from Ozil to finish to double the advantage.

Welbeck scored his fourth goal in just three Premier League games against Aston Villa. The previous three goals were for his former club, Man Utd. Photo: AFP.

Liverpool's two goals in just 79 seconds stunned Aston Villa and before they could understand what had happened, the Villa Park team conceded a third goal, courtesy of Cissokho's own goal. Aston Villa effectively gave up after this, even though there was still nearly an hour left on the clock.

In that situation, Arsenal also played very leisurely. They had two more chances, both not really clear in the remaining time of the first half, before fully exploiting their technical superiority and ball possession ability in the second half, to maintain a 3-0 lead until the end of the match.

Line-up:

Aston Villa(4-3-3): Guzan - Hutton, Senderos, Clark, Cissokho - Delph, Cleverley, Sanchez (Bacuna 86) - Richardson (N'Zogbia, 77), Weimann (Grealish 46), Agbonlahor.

Substitutes: Okore, Joe Cole, Given, Lowton.

Arsenal(4-1-4-1): Szczesny - Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs - Arteta - Chamberlain (Rosicky, 78), Ramsey (Wilshere, 78), Cazorla, Ozil - Welbeck (Podolski, 78).

Substitutes: Ospina, Diaby, Coquelin, Sanchez.

Goals: Ozil 33, Welbeck 34, Cissokho own goal 36.

Referee: Mike Jones.

According to VnExpress.net