ASTON VILLA have been accused of "literally oppressing" Arsenal before their match at Villa Park. Mikel Arteta 's Gunners were paying a visit to the Midlands-based outfit as Unai Emery 's side played their first home game of the season. Ahead of the match, Villa showed off a new addition to their tunnel in the form of the Champions League trophy they won in 1982.
In a video shared to social media, the trophy was seen in a display case in the middle of the player's tunnel before the entrance to the pitch. The trophy marks the club's return to the Champions League this season after they finished fourth last season - the first time they are competing in Europe's elite club competition since 1983. However, fans online were convinced the display was a subtle dig against visitors Arsenal , who have never won the competition.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL One fan said: "I swear the league is trying to taunt arsenal. Aston Villa has the champions league trophy on display. Absolute disgusting," followed by some laughing emojis.
A second said: "Aston Villa literally oppressing Arsenal with a Champions league trophy. Can never be my club." A third added: "Aston Villa displaying their champions league trophy so that Arsenal can see how it looks like.
Trolling on another level." Another said: "Doing this for a game against Arsenal," followed by a laughing emoji. Most read in Football BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKER S A fifth said: "Displaying what arsenal can’t.
" However, if the display was aimed at disrupting Arsenal then the gambit failed to work as the visitors emerged as 2-0 victors thanks to goals from Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey . Arsenal made the Champions League final in 2006 but controversially lost in the final to Barcelona . They returned to the competition last season after a being absent since 2017.
ARSENAL made sure to keep pace with Manchester City as they bagged a late 2-0 win against bogey team Aston Villa. Timely goals from Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey helped Mikel Arteta maintain a 100 per cent start to the season. But they owed a lot to keeper David Raya who somehow denied Ollie Watkins at 0-0.
Here is how SunSport’s Jordan Davies rated the Gunners stars...
DAVID RAYA – 9/10 Other than watching Watkins’ shot dribble wide, a fairly quiet first half before a smart save to halt Rogers’ flick across goal. He then pulled off an unbelievable stop on the line to deny a Watkins header, getting up off the floor after a deflected shot smacked the bar and bounced out. JURRIEN TIMBER – 7 Showed his quality in the opening few minutes to break Villa’s tricky block before leaving Onana in a heap with a hefty body check.
Likely to keep this starting spot ahead of Zinchenko. WILLIAM SALIBA – 9 Immense. Watkins barely had a sniff up against him.
Arsenal’s difference-maker in these tight, nervy games. In a rare instance, lost his temper with McGinn in the first half, but regained his composure and was a rock at the back. Made a late lung-busting run back to block a late counter and celebrated like it was a goal.
GABRIEL – 5 Very lucky not to hand Villa the lead. Stripped on the edge of his box claiming a foul but thankful to see Watkins somehow drag his effort wide. Picked up a needless yellow in the second half for wild challenge on Onana.
One of his poorer games in an Arsenal shirt with mistakes that should have been punished. BEN WHITE – 7 Solid as ever, needing to be alert with Villa lethal on the counter, covering superbly. In pure White fashion, started a melee after smacking a ball into McGinn for doing the same to Saliba, with an expressionless look on his face throughout.
THOMAS PARTEY – 8 Brilliantly stopped several early Villa counters and showed good physicality in his entertaining battle against McGinn. Looked leggy late on but kept on by Arteta, and rewarded his manager with a rare goal. DECLAN RICE – 7 Drove forward more with Partey sitting deeper.
Lovely pass in behind for Havertz which should have been finished off. MARTIN ODEGAARD – 7 Kept things ticking with some cute passes in the Villa final third and threw around plenty of tackles in the middle of the pitch. Played in Saka in the 64th minute but the winger opted not to shoot, but three minutes later teed up Saka again to provide for Trossard.
GABRIEL MARTINELLI – 5 Had an early chance to break free down the left but his delivery into Saka was under hit. Was just as lacklustre after the break and lucky to stay on for as long as he did, coming off in the 65th minute. BUKAYO SAKA – 8 Looked to have put Arsenal ahead after 15 minutes but for a wonderful Martinez fingertip save.
Through on goal in the second half, he wrongly chose to try and round the Villa keeper and made a mess of his finish. But, all that matters are his assists for Trossard and Partey – his persistence paid off. KAI HAVERTZ – 6 Unlucky not to find the net from a scrappy corner, hitting the bar with a toe poke.
Wasteful in Villa’s box with two great chances squandered. Worked hard, but not as clinical as he has been. SUBS: LEANDRO TROSSARD (MARTINELLI, 65) – 9 Almost gave Villa the lead within seconds of coming on, losing Ezri Konsa at a free-kick with a volley looping just wide.
But then, he pops up in the other box and instinctively curls in a beautiful finish. Played his part in Partey’s strike too with a perfect run in behind. RICCARDO CALAFIORI (TIMBER, 80) – 6 Premier League debut for the Italian.
Got in the good books of Arsenal fans by winding up Martinez almost instantly. REISS NELSON (SAKA, 87) – N/A They made it all the way to the quarter-finals before they were beaten by Bayern Munich . Villa's return coincides with a new format being introduced into the Champions League, with teams now playing eight games in an overall league format as opposed to six in four team groups.
They will find out who they will face in their matches in the competition when the draw take place on Thursday . Each club will play eight matches in the opening phase - against seeded opposition, in a system designed to ensure that teams play opponents of similar difficulty. The top eight teams in the "final" table will automatically go through to the last 16, where they will be joined by the eight play-off winners of ties between the sides placed ninth to 24th in the table.
Despite there being just eight matches in the opening phase, European matches will be spread over 10 midweek slots. The new Champions League format also sees the implication of two additional qualifying spots. They will be awarded to the nations that are top of the "country coefficient" chart each season.
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