Arteta hails resilient Arsenal as Saka’s strike seals gritty 1-0 win at Villa Park | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta has hailed his Arsenal side after the Premier League champions secured a hard-fought win at Aston Villa.

Bukayo Saka's second-half goal secured a 1-0 win at Villa Park, as the England winger tapped home from Riccardo Calafiori's cross.

Saka's strike secured a second straight win for Arsenal, who avenged last season's loss at Villa Park. Arsenal conceded a devastating 95th-minute winner during last season's defeat at Aston Villa and Arteta admitted that feeling was on his mind pre-game.

"Well that was the state in my tummy and I spoke to the players about it. That image when the players were on the floor totally gutted," he said at hispost-match press conference.

"It was a really difficult one to take and we used that to bring energy, to bring more conviction and belief to understand the difficulty of the challenge that we had ahead, especially against a team that was so successful last year and then they lost a few days ago in a really big way. You expect a reaction and this stadium is a really difficult one, one for the big matches and they make those moments count.

"Today when we had to suffer, we did suffer and when we had to be really dominant, we were. So I'm really pleased."

Arsenal have kept clean sheets in each of their opening two games and restricted Aston Villa to zero shots on target on Monday night.

Arteta was quick to praise his side's defensive strength after navigating a tough test with three points.

"In thePremier League away from home, when you come to these quality squads, these quality coaches and they know how to make life really tough for you, you have to be at it. Consistently throughout the game, and individually, we did that really well."