Arteta’s changes also made a difference. Leandro Trossard gave them a 67th-minute lead against the run of play, producing a smooth right-foot finish past Villa keeper Emi Martinez to score with his first touch after replacing Gabriel Martinelli.
It is almost impossible to move at Villa Park without hearing Argentina’s World Cup-winning keeper celebrated as “the world’s number one” but he momentarily flouted the lofty billing with a desperately weak attempt to save Thomas Partey’s shot 10 minutes later. That doubled Arsenal’s advantage to confirm a win of huge importance.
Forget that this is only Arsenal’s second game. The celebrations at the end between Arteta, his players and their fans gave a measure of what it meant.
Arsenal were nowhere near the top of their game, often lacking fluency, but the old adage states that any team with designs on the big prizes wins when short of their best. This applied here.
The Gunners still occasionally look like a team in need of a reliable finisher but they can make that argument redundant when they still have so many goals in their side. Whether Arteta addresses the issue before the transfer window closes remains to be seen.
Villa will feel their wounds were self-inflicted and that defeat was harsh, with plenty to encourage the passionate home support, whose expectations were tangible throughout as they look forward to Champions League football this season.
They had arguably the game’s outstanding performer in Morgan Rogers, the 22-year-old showing his great potential by occasionally over-powering Arsenal with his surging runs, allied to an ability to overcome challenges with the quality of his dribbling.
In the end, though, this was Arsenal’s day.
The Gunners may not have been the better team. Indeed, for periods, they were pushed back and uncomfortable. But this was a win they desired desperately, achieved in the manner that will have delighted Arteta for the character and steel on show.