Arsenal 3-0 Aston Villa: Magical Cesc Fabregas Double Downs Villains

Arsenal climbed into second place in the Premier League as they beat Aston Villa 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium. Cesc Fabregas came off the bench to score twice for Arsenal, before Abou Diaby rounded off the scoring with a third late on.

The Gunners had a chance in the opening minutes, Abou Diaby and Denilson exchanged passes in midfield before the Frenchman was brought down for a free-kick on the right. Samir Nasri swung the ball into the box and it found Thomas Vermaelen at the back post, the Belgian took a touch and fired back across goal, but his shot hit William Gallas on the line and bounced out to safety.

Eduardo had a glorious chance to open the scoring in the fourth minute, Diaby scythed his way into the penalty area and laid off to Eduardo on his left. The Croatian turned his marker easily to find space in the box, but his finish was tame, striking straight at Brad Friedel in the Villa goal.

The Villains created a decent opening in the ninth minute, James Milner crossed from the left towards Emile Heskey in the box. The Englishman headed down to his countryman Gabriel Agbonlahor, who was crowded out by the Arsenal defence. Agbonlahor managed to feed the ball back to Heskey and the forward attempted a strike on goal, but his shot was wayward and went comfortably wide of Manuel Almunia's left-hand post.

Villa had the ball in the net in the 21st minute, Milner sent a diagonal ball towards the back post from the left flank. Richard Dunne ran round the back of the Arsenal defence to challenge Almunia, the Spaniard spilled the ball and the visiting skipper stabbed the loose ball into the open net. The goal didn't stand, however, as the referee blew up for a foul on the 'keeper.

Arsenal burst into life in the 29th minute, crafting a flowing passing move involving Diaby and  Denilson before the ball was worked out wide to Bacary Sagna. The Frenchman drove the ball in low towards the edge of the penalty area where Denilson laid off to Nasri. The former Marseille midfielder took a touch and fired goal wards, but his shot deflected over the bar for a corner.

A decent first half ended with Friedel collecting an Eduardo free-kick swung in from the right. Arsenal were on top in terms of possession, but Villa defended well and looked lively on the counter attack.

The second half started in the same fashion, with some decent build up play by Arsenal eventually cut out by Villa.

Arsenal had an attempt cleared off the line in the 56th minute, Villa failed to clear from a Nasri corner that Eduardo got his head to and Gallas pounced on the loose ball. Friedel managed to block his effort and Carlos Cuellar hoofed clear as the ball trickled to the goal line.

Arsene Wenger decided to introduce Fabregas at this juncture, bringing on the Spaniard in place of Denilson. Arsenal's talisman almost made an immediate impact with a long-range free-kick that zipped marginally over the crossbar.

Fabregas was involved again minutes later, driving towards the penalty area and playing the ball to Andrey Arshavin. The Russian took a touch and lined up his shot, drilling towards the bottom left-hand corner. Friedel produced a solid save, stretching with his left hand, and Villa managed to clear as Eduardo lurked for the rebound.

When Arsenal opened the scoring, it was all down to Fabregas. The little Spaniard turned Dunne and was brought down to win a free-kick 25 yards from goal on the left. Fabregas stepped up to take the set piece and curled the ball into the top left-hand corner with a superb effort: 1-0 to Arsenal.


The goal seemed to invigorate the Gunners as they pressed forward in search of a second, Alex Song blazed over the crossbar from 20 yards after a good passage of play by the home side. They worked the ball from left to right and back to the middle, where Song showed good footwork to work the shooting opportunity.

Arsenal sealed the game with a second goal from Fabregas after a incisive counter attack by the Gunners. Armand Traore intercepted a loose Milner pass and quickly played a cross field pass to substitute Theo Walcott on the right. The Englishman drove at the Villa defence and slid the ball to Fabregas, who had made a lung-bursting run from deep, the Spaniard struck the ball first time and fired it beyond the helpless Friedel: 2-0 to Arsenal.

The goal came at a price for the Gunners, as Fabregas clutched his hamstring in the aftermath. He was withdrawn at the next possible opportunity, ending a marvellous 21 minute cameo, to be replaced by Aaron Ramsey.

Villa almost grabbed a consolation in the 85th minute, Agbonlahor burst through the Arsenal backline for a one-on-one with Almunia. Gallas recovered brilliantly to block the young Englishman's shot, and Almunia scrambled back to claw the ball out for a corner under pressure from Agbonlahor.

Diaby capped a wonderful second half for the Gunners, scoring Arsenal's third in stoppage time. The Frenchman drove at the Villa defence, who backed off the midfielder, and Diaby curled the ball into the bottom right-hand corner from 20 yards: 3-0 to Arsenal.

The victory sends Arsenal into second place, four points behind league leaders Chelsea with a game in hand. Manchester United travel to Hull City this afternoon.

Owen Watson, Goal.com UK