Aston Villa vs Arsenal result: Player ratings as Trezeguet lifts home side out of relegation zone

A huge win for Dean Smith’s team

Aston Villa jumped out of the bottom three with a vital 1-0 win over Arsenal in the Premier League on Tuesday night.

There were few clear chances until the first goal of the game flew in, Trezeguet smashing in at the near post after a corner fell his way just before the half-hour mark.

Keinan Davis dragged a shot wide and Eddie Nketiah hit the post with a glancing header, but Villa held out for a priceless three points.

It takes them above Watford on goal difference, ahead of a final day of the season where any two of three, realistically, can still go down.

Here are the player ratings from Villa Park.

(POOL/AFP via Getty Images (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Aston Villa

Pepe Reina – 7: Safe hands on high balls. Extremely loud in an empty stadium. Gave the ball a lovely kiss of thanks when it stayed out off the post.

Ahmed Elmohamady – 6: Had to be subbed after just 25 minutes after overstretching a hamstring.

Ezri Konsa – 8: Assured with his defensive work and took up good positions to intercept cut-backs. One brilliant block on Aubameyang.

Tyrone Mings – 5: Caused problems when he failed to cut out crosses. Beaten to a header which almost saw an equaliser.

Matt Targett – 6: Very cool in possession under pressure, but gave it away too much and similarly easygoing about tracking Cedric at times.

Douglas Luiz – 7: A few dodgy moments on the ball, but his tenacity and determination to cover for his team-mates was impeccable. Tremendous booking to halt a dangerous counter.

John McGinn – 7: Not great with his set-pieces but a vital tactical component, pushing up as an out-ball and helping Samatta turn Arsenal back. A decent strike was saved.

Conor Hourihane – 6: Another hard-working member of the team who will be rightly praised for his industry and rightly expected to be better on the ball in future games.

Trezeguet – 7: Tremendous connection with his half-volley to fizz the ball into the bottom corner.

Jack Grealish – 8: Man of the Match. Extremely deep a lot of the first half, passing from behind the midfield line or driving forward through the centre. One vital challenge early in the second half inside his own box. Created two brilliant chances late on for his team and generally provided a fantastic outlet.

Mbwana Ally Samatta – 6: Ran a lot, mostly isolated presses which had little impact, but did win loose balls and run the channels too.

Arsenal

Emi Martinez – 6: Nothing he could do about the goal. Good save from McGinn’s effort.

Rob Holding – 7: Good positional work, strong in the air, played out well – a good all-round display, other than being beaten for pace by Davis.

David Luiz – 6: Decent with clearances in behind the defensive line, less able when asked to step out into the channels on recovery runs. Subbed after an hour.

Sead Kolasinac – 7: Easily brushed McGinn off the ball a few times. Got forward a couple of times when in the three, then sat at centre-back in a four.

Cedric Soares – 6: A decent outlet in deep areas, but didn’t seem to get into the final third particularly quickly and his delivery was unimaginative.

Dani Ceballos – 5: Caught in possession more than once and out-fought for the ball. Defensively poor, couldn’t get forward much either.

Lucas Torreira – 5: Well short of rhythm. Several fouls were late; he was booked and subbed at the break as a result.

Bukayo Saka – 6: Took a long time to get into the game, with no space afforded him to run into. Taken off on the hour mark.

Eddie Nketiah – 5: Tried to hold the width but barely got into the game.

Alexandre Lacazette – 6: Stifled in terms of space to work in. Had to keep filtering wide or dropping deep, which was testament to Villa’s organisation.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 6: Kept extremely quiet for an hour. Headed one over and saw another shot blocked.