Yahoo News Alan Shearer denies Arsenal one excuse as he spots what made Aston Villa win 'even more impressive'
Alan Shearer has delivered his verdict on Aston Villa’s victory over Arsenal, describing their performance as “close to perfect”.
And he insists the 2-0 win thanks to late goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins is even more impressive because Unai Emery’s side had two days less to prepare for the Premier League clash than Mikel Arteta’s Gunners. While Arsenal had played Bayern Munich in the Champions League last Tuesday night, Villa faced Lille in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night.
The three points has given Villa the perfect boost as they battle Tottenham to finish fourth in the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League. They are now three points above Spurs in fourth place in the table, with five matches left to play.
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“Villa's victory was certainly no smash and grab,” said Shearer. “In contrast, it was a tactical masterclass by Unai Emery, whose side had already hit the woodwork twice before Leon Bailey put them ahead late on.
“Arsenal did not really create anything in the second half and Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez only made one big save, from Leandro Trossard, in the 90 minutes.
“Villa were outstanding defensively, but they were not set up just to keep Arsenal out. They were very brave, in that they always committed plenty of men forward too, and they got their reward.
“I would describe it as a proper away performance, and close to a perfect one. What made it even more impressive is that they had played on Thursday, in the Europa Conference League, as well.”
