Gunners Run Riot at Villa Park as Welbeck Scores his First Arsenal Goal.

On the green grass we have won,
On the green grass we have won,
On the green grass,
On the green grass,
On the green grass we have won.

What a nice way to respond after an ugly defeat against Dortmund earlier in the week. It was all Arsenal at Villa Park today as the boys showed vision and determination to ensure they silence their critics.

We saw some little changes in the lineup. Alexis Sanchez fell to the bench while Santi Cazorla started. According to Wenger, he had to drop Sanchez to enable him have some rest. He thinks the former Barcelona man has undergone a lot of stress already. You know he is that type of player who is so physical on the field of play. His work rate is just too high. Another player who missed out of the starting lineup was Jack Wilshere. He was introduced later in the match.

The sight of the squad first made fans a bit optimistic that a good result would be secured. Why? It’s simple. Mesut Ozil was played in a position different from the one we have seen him deployed in in previous games and that paid off.

Aston Villa got the first real chance from Clarke’s close-range header but Szczesny who was composed all through the game was able to prevent it from going in. Arsenal looked so dangerous as Ozil made a couple of brilliant moves. The Gunners got the lead a few minutes after Ramsey failed to bring the ball under his spell from some neatly worked passes. It was Welbeck who picked up the ball from the half of the hosts and immediately sent a pass through to Ozil who ran past the Villa defence before slotting a shot past goalkeeper Guzan. That was his first goal for the club this season.

Last season, on this same ground, Arsenal scored two goals in a minute. The case wasn’t different this time. The current FA Cup holders made it 2-0 almost instantly as Ozil returned the favour he got from former Manchester United striker. The German international found space on the left to send in a cross to Welbeck who tapped in his first goal in an Arsenal shirt.

Seconds after the second goal, an Aston Villa player, Cissokho committed a blunder by putting into his own net a cross sent in by Kieran Gibbs. It should had been four before half-time if not for the fact that Ozil sent wide a ball sent to him by Aaron Ramsey.

All those goals came in so fast to the point that an Aston Villa fan who left to ease himself at the 33rd minute when it was still 0-0 returned to see Arsenal celebrating the third goal.

The second half was on a lowkey even though Arsenal still posed much threat to Villa. They had majority of the possession and were looking for counter attacks whenever the hosts moved forward to attack. Szczesny rarely got tested. Set pieces were the major threats he got. There were no goals in the second half and the game ended 3-0 in favour of Arsenal.

There were a lot of positives from today’s game. Arsenal extended their unbeaten run at Villa Park to sixteen games, Mesut Ozil got his first goal and assist for this season, Danny Welbeck scored his first goal for Arsenal and finally Arsenal kept their first Premier League clean sheet for the present campaign. It was also the Gunners’ first away win since August.

Three points in the goody bag! This victory should boost the confidence in the team. Hope we continue this way. Come On You Gunners!