Premier League, Aston Villa beat Arsenal 1-0: Records broken
Aston Villa saw off Arsenal 1-0 in gameweek 23 of the Premier League 2020-21 season on Saturday. The hosts scored after just 74 seconds which was the difference in the end. Ollie Watkins scored his 10th Premier League goal of the season to help Villa rise to eighth. Meanwhile, Arsenal suffered a second successive defeat and are 10th. Here are the details.
Watkins' goal the difference as Villa shine
Former Arsenal keeper Emiliano Martinez was instrumental for the goal as he started the move which led to Bertrand Traore pouncing on a mistake by defender Cedric Soares. Watkins then scored with a shot that deflected off Rob Holding. For the Gunners, Mat Ryan made his debut on goal and produced a fine save to deny Traore. Martinez also saved Granit Xhaka's free-kick.
Impressive records for goal-keepers Martinez and Ryan
As per Opta, Emiliano Martínez is the third goal-keeper to keep a clean sheet in their first two Premier League appearances against a club they've previously appeared for in the competition after Shaka Hislop versus Newcastle (1998-99) and Mark Schwarzer versus Middlesbrough (2008-09). Meanwhile, Ryan became the first Australian to appear for Arsenal in a competitive game since John Kosmina against FK Crvena Zvezda.
Martinez registers 11th clean sheet, Ryan scripts an unwanted record
Martinez now has 11 clean sheets in the Premier League 2020-21 season and is only behind Man City's Ederson (13). Meanwhile, Ryan became just the fourth keeper in the competition's history to concede within the opening two minutes of their full Premier League debut for a club.
Aston Villa register these records
Aston Villa have equaled last season's final total of 35 points, with 17 games remaining for them this season. As per Sky Sports, Villa completed a Premier League double over Arsenal for the first time since 1992-93. Watkins is the first English player to score 10+ goals in a Premier League season for Villa since Gabriel Agbonlahor scored 13 in 2009-10.
Watkins scripts this record for Villa
As per Opta, Watkins is the first Aston Villa player to score in three consecutive Premier League matches at Villa Park since Darren Bent in November 2011.
