Though they were beaten, the game against Arsenal was one to steady the club’s nerves after a summer of upheaval
Nothing ever remains the same. Entropy happens. Evolution happens. People grow, people shrink. The world changes and we must change with it. Change happens. The key is to keep ahead of that change, to guide it. The problem for Aston Villa this summer is that it has felt like change has been happening to them, the understandable desire to rejuvenate the squad coinciding with players being lured away by bigger salaries at more established clubs. The danger is of a vicious spiral, of the exodus inspiring further exodus as faith in the project is lost.
This, though, was a game to steady Villa nerves after the embarrassment at Brighton last Saturday – even if there had been a sense of pressure mounting uncomfortably before Bukayo Saka put Arsenal ahead. Villa might even have taken a first-half lead had Emí Buendia’s drive not come back off the bar. The champions were the better side, but there wasn’t a huge gulf between them. There was certainly enough here for Villa fans to believe that, even if this is a period of transition, the team they might turn into at the end of that process could be extremely useful.
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