Arsenal's top four hopes were handed a significant boost after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.
Bukayo Saka scored the game's opening goal just shy of the 30-minute mark will a volley from the edge of the area that unsighted Emiliano Martinez.
The 20-year-old's strike marked the 2000th Premier League goal scored by the Gunners, while on an individual level it was Saka's ninth of the league season.
Villa would have viewed the absences of Aaron Ramsdale and Gabriel Martinelli from the Arsenal line-up as an advantage with the pair ruled out due to a hip injury and Covid-19 respectively.
Instead, they failed to lay a glove on their hosts with Bernd Leno's most notable save coming in the final few seconds.
Mirror Football has analysed five talking points from a cagey affair at Villa Park.
Arsenal shake off mid-week jitters
The Gunners saw their long-running unbeaten run come to an end on Wednesday night after they were beaten by Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool at the Emirates.
The defeat sparked fears that Arsenal’s top-four hopes could soon unravel given they have three away games out of their next four, but they have gone some way to putting those fears at ease with a win at Villa Park.
Defeat against Liverpool hardly came as a shock and while Arteta would have been desperate to spring a surprise against the Reds, he would have been fully aware the meeting with Steven Gerrard’s side presented a far more winnable game.
Victory in the Midlands means the Gunners extend their advantage in fourth spot to four points ahead of their nearest rivals Manchester United having played one game less than the Red Devils.
With Ralf Rangnick’s men not in action again until early April, Arteta can now be safe in the knowledge there is significant daylight between the two teams for the short-term.
Ramsdale injury hands Leno shop window opportunity
Arsenal’s current number one was forced out of action against Villa with a hip injury, leading to a surprise for the Gunners faithful when they saw Bernd Leno’s name in the starting line-up.
The German was once Arsenal ’s first-choice ‘keeper for multiple seasons before Ramsdale’s arrival triggered his eventual Emirates demise, but the late call-up to the starting line-up presented the 30-year-old with a chance to place himself in the shop window.
Given his lack of first-team minutes since Ramsdale signed, Leno is thought to be keen on a new challenge in the summer and is exploring every option with the ultimate aim of playing his way back into the international fold after he was omitted from the most recent Germany squad.
Leno was rarely called into action early on, but was a commanding presence inside his penalty area when it came to dealing with Villa’s corners.
His best moment came when he was forced to leap over the head of his own defender to catch a threatening cross into the box, but his save with the final kick of the game means he delivered when his side needed him most.
Saka faultless yet again
Superlatives that haven’t already been used on Saka are in short supply and the reason why is performances is exactly like this one.
The winger is such a consistent performer his youth is now barely mentioned, he is no longer seen as a young prospect but instead the first name on the Arsenal team sheet.
The Gunners academy graduate scored the game’s opening goal, but the warning signs for Villa were on display long before as Saka gave both Tyrone Mings and Ashley Young a torrid time, the former eventually picking up a yellow card for a late challenge on the wide-man.
Rotational fouling of Saka was a running theme of the contest as Villa’s back-line seemingly took it in turns to kick lumps out of the England star who had words with referee Andy Madley as he made his way off the pitch at half-time.
He was eventually replaced with just over 20 minutes to go in place of Nicolas Pepe after a second-half cameo that saw Saka pose Arsenal's strongest threat once again.
Villa’s midfield battle
The first 45 minutes passed by with few positives for the hosts, but if there was one thing Gerrard could be encouraged by it was the performance of John McGinn.
The Scotland international was his trademark combative self as he tried to nullify the threat posed by his midfield counterparts Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka.
McGinn carried those efforts into the second-half while the likes of Jacob Ramsey and Emi Buendia raised their game to match the standard of their teammate.
Buendia made a stellar recovery run to thwart what could have been an Arsenal second when Saka found himself in acres of space in the Villa half having picked Ramsey’s pocket.
Goal threat seemed to elude the hosts for much of the clash, but as the game wore on it was Villa’s midfield providing the springboard for sustained attacks.
Smith Rowe shows signs of best form
Emile Smith Rowe is currently Arsenal’s leading scorer this season, yet Saturday’s clash against Villa provided him with his first start in exactly a month.
The England international has been forced to play second-fiddle to Gabriel Martinelli in recent weeks, but with the Brazilian ruled out of the game after a positive Covid-19 test Smith Rowe was present from the first whistle.
The first chance of the game fell to the right boot of the midfielder after he was delightfully teed up by Martin Odegaard, but he fired high over the cross bar from the edge of the penalty area.
The 21-year-old was central to seemingly everything positive for his side, finding Saka in plenty of space to trigger another move that led to a Gunners chance.
While a goal evaded him, he linked up with his teammates in fantastic fashion.
