Thriller vs Villa means so much more than just 3 points

Football is a game of moments and Arsenal’s win against Aston Villa is one that has surely changed the course of the Premier League season.

Arsenal had seemingly learnt from their mistakes of last season in not letting a loss spiral into a losing streak and then into a drop of form. Last season, Arsenal lost three games in a row after the international break to three mid-table clubs. 0 points in 3 games.

The next game was Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, which Arsenal won 4-2 after being level at half time. The win restarted Arsenal’s charge for Champions League football and got them back on track, even though they eventually fell short.

Chelsea player at the time, Jorginho played a major role in Arsenal’s pivotal win this time around – this time, he was wearing a different coloured shirt.

I’ve wanted to break down and show the positives of this Jorginho transfer for a couple weeks now, but it’s hard to sing someone’s praises when you’ve only claimed 1 point out of your last possible 9. This is the bulk of what I thought about Jorginho becoming a Gunner:

- By now we’ve learnt to trust Arteta’s recruitment

- He provides cover for Partey since Elneny is out

- The short-term nature of his contract reduces the risk of him becoming a burden to the club

- At the very least, we have signed a serial winner

Let’s look at how that’s worked out for us so far - Jorginho has slotted right into Thomas Partey’s role as the anchor of Arsenal’s midfield. After a rocky debut off the bench against Everton, he put in a solid shift against City in another loss. He then started against Aston Villa, in a game where nothing else mattered to Arsenal apart from picking up three points. It didn’t need to be an amazing performance, it didn’t need to be 100% by the book, the only thing that mattered when the full-time whistle blew was that Arsenal would have more goals than Villa. It was the only thing that mattered.

In order to be a serial winner, you need people to step up in the big moments. You need players who can swing a pivotal moment into your favour. Arsenal’s performance was full of these moments.

It was Saka’s volley to get us back on level terms after a shaky start to the first half. It was Zinchenko’s strike to equalise after a dominant start to the second half. It was Gabriel’s last man tackle in the latter stages of the game. It was Aaron Ramsdale’s crucial save in the 82nd minute. It was Jorginho himself thundering a shot at goal that eventually ended up in the back of the net, and it was Fabio Vieira and Gabriel Martinelli removing all doubt of the result with practically the last kicks of the game.

Even though Odegaard missed his big chance and Nketiah couldn’t convert his 1-on-1, when you have enough people step up, you get a result.

It’s a vital win to set up Arsenal for their next five games, in which the Gunners’ top placed opponent sit in 6th and the other four are in the bottom half of the table. During that time, Manchester City must face Newcastle and Liverpool, whilst Manchester United will also face Liverpool and Newcastle.

These next five games will go a long way in determining where Arsenal finish at the end of the season.