Aaron Ramsdale: Power of the shot beat him for the first goal and he could do little about the second. One moment where he was nearly caught playing from the back when Arsenal were rocking, but a superb save to keep Bailey's stinging effort out. 6
Ben White: Got forward and overlapped Saka well in the first and his relentlessness in the second played a huge part in Arsenal's comeback. A really good response to being dropped in midweek. 7.
William Saliba: At fault for the first goal where he should not have allowed Watkins to get the shot off. Recovered well in the second half though and dealt with Watkins far better. 5.
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Gabriel: Much of Arsenal's build up came down the right so he wasn't used often in that phase. Generally defended decently though after a poor showing in midweek. One superb tackle to stop Bailey. 6.
Oleksandr Zinchenko: A really poor first half where giving the ball away cheaply for Watkins' goal was lowlight. Bounced back well in the second though and showed a performance with real leadership culminating in a superbly taken goal. 6.
Jorginho: One of the better players in Arsenal's disappointing first half with his quick feet and industry at the base of midfield. Faded in influence in the second half but largely because Arsenal played more in the opposition half. Another solid display. The shot that caused the winner to top it off too! 8.
Granit Xhaka: A poor day at the office for the Swiss international who was fooled by a dummy for the second goal and was poor in possession. Offered little going forward again. Might be a change Arteta has to look at going forward. 5.
Martin Odegaard: An atrocious miss with a near-open goal that could well have won Arsenal the game. A poor game aside from that with limited influence, particularly in the first half. Better in the second, but not up to his high standards. 6.
Bukayo Saka: Chopped down relentlessly again at Villa Park and although his frustration did go he showed excellent fight to keep going. A well taken goal and by far Arsenal's most potent attacking threat. Did look to do it all on his a bit too often second half though. 7.
Eddie Nketiah: Some really decent chances spurned again. The one-vs-one in the second half was the biggest miss, but his hard work up top to create chances deserves praise at least. 6.
Leandro Trossard: Anonymous in the first half. Grew into it more in the second but didn't do enough when Arsenal looked to use their left side to attack, which admittedly was rare. 5.
Substitutes -
Gabriel Martinelli: Good threat after coming on with some pacey runs down the left when the game got stretched and put the game to bed with an open goal. A good impact that should see him back in the starting XI next week. 8
Fabio Vieira: Came on too late to really influence the game, but added a late assist for Martinelli's goal to put gloss on the result. n/a.
Takehiro Tomiyasu: Came on too late to influence the game. n/a.
Rob Holding: Came on too late to influence the game. n/a.
Kieran Tierney: Came on too late to influence the game. n/a.
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