Arsenal steamrolled to victory over Aston Villa after beating them 3-1 at the Emirates on Friday night with Thomas Partey, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Emile Smith Rowe on the scoresheet
Video Unavailable
In pictures: Arsenal v Aston Villa
Arsenal fans taunted Emiliano Martinez with a cruel chant during their win over Aston Villa at the Emirates on Friday night.
The Gunners made light work of the Birmingham-based side after a dominant first-half display.
Thomas Partey headed his first ever goal for Arsenal after nodding home a Emile Smith Rowe corner before Matt Targett was adjudged to have fouled Alexandre Lacazette in the box.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw his penalty saved but the Gabon international knocked in the rebound just on the cusp of half-time.
Arsenal were well worth their victory, which was compounded after the break when Smith Rowe scored a third from a counter-attack.
Jacob Ramsey netted a consolation as Mikel Arteta got his side revved up to banish the doubters following their 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Monday night.
One of the sub-plots of the clash was the men between the sticks with Aaron Ramsdale signing in the summer from Sheffield United.
Some eyebrows were raised over the price – particularly as the Englishman cost more than Martinez.
The Argentine had left Arsenal the summer previous to play more football and has grown into one of the finest goalkeepers in the Premier League.
But this was a tough night for the 29-year-old on his return to the Emirates, who was taunted throughout the match by the home crowd.
One chant rang round, singing: “Aaron Ramsdale – he’s better than you.”
But a more cruel version echoed round not long after, in the shape of: “You’re just a s*** Aaron Ramsdale.”
Arsenal looked full of energy as they ran rings past Aston Villa, with Arteta fielding a number of youngsters.
Nuno Tavares, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Ben White all signed in the summer and started.
And Arteta has insisted that making his Gunners side more youthful was an important mission of his over the transfer window.
He said: “I’m really satisfied with the way we started, our tempo, urgency, how dominant we were.
“We really believed we could do it against a really good side. We wanted to put the result on Monday aside.
“They did [learn from that Crystal Palace draw]. We started to win the game with the reaction they had from Monday.
“We are the youngest team in the league. We can’t change that. We have to find why these things happen and put them right.”
Arsenal face Leeds United next in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night before facing Leicester at the weekend.
