- Arsenal beat Aston Villa 1-0 away in Birmingham to maintain a perfect start to the Premier League season
- Bukayo Saka scored the only goal after VAR overturned a penalty decision, ruling the foul occurred outside the box
- Opta’s supercomputer predicts that Arsenal’s chance of defending their Premier League title is up more than 2.5%
Arsenal kept their 100 per cent record in the Premier League this season with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Aston Villa at Villa Park, moving them to the top end of the early standings and boosting their title credentials significantly.
Bukayo Saka grabbed the only goal of the match in the second half. A penalty awarded to Arsenal was overturned by VAR, which determined that the foul on Saka had occurred outside the penalty area, but he went on to score minutes later.
Source: Getty Images
The result leaves Arsenal as one of only four clubs with maximum points from their opening two Premier League fixtures, alongside Manchester City, Hull City, and Chelsea.
Despite both Arsenal and Manchester City sharing the same points tally, the reigning champions sit second in the table, separated from City only by goals scored.
Supercomputer predicts Premier League winner
The performance has had a notable impact on Arsenal’s projected chances of winning the league.
According to The Analyst, Opta’s supercomputer has revised its title predictions following the win, placing Arsenal as heavy favourites at 45.84%, a rise of more than 2.5 percentage points from the figures recorded before the game.
Manchester City follow with a 26.64% probability, while Chelsea, who are also unbeaten, have been given a 6.06% chance of Xabi Alonso claiming the Premier League crown in his debut season as manager.
Arsenal’s back-to-back victories suggest the club is in strong early form as they look to defend the title they won last campaign.
Source: Legit.ng