Game #4706
Sunday, 17 March 2002
Attendance: 41,520
Lost
Premier League
8th (-1)
Arsenal
Last 5: 🟨 🟥 🟩 🟥 🟥
Villa Park
Villa lose successive games under Graham Taylor to leave them with one win in seven Premier League games since John Gregory's departure as they fall back to eighth in the table,
Aston Villa
1-2
Arsenal
Assist(s) | Mustapha Hadji | 69’ |
KEY MAN
Gareth Barry, penalty saved
PREVIOUS MATCH
NEXT MATCH
MATCH TIMELINE
🥅 | 15’ Goal, 0-1, (Arsenal), Edú Gaspar
🕒 | HT Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal
🔁 | 46’ Sub off, Hassan Kachloul, Sub on Dion Dublin
🔁 | 46’ Sub off, Darius Vassell, Sub on, Mustapha Hadji
💥 | 55’ Missed Penalty, Gareth Barry
🥅 | 61’ Goal, 0-2, (Arsenal), Robert Pirés
⚽ | 69’ Goal, 1-2, Dion Dublin, Assist by Mustapha Hadji
🟨 | 69’ Booking, George Boateng
🔁 | 80’ Sub off, Paul Merson, Sub on, Lee Hendrie
🕒 | FT Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal
ON THIS DAY
Villa lose consecutive games and now have 3 defeats in five games under Graham Taylor as they fall back to 8th in the table.
Aston Villa
European Cup / Champions League: 🏆
UEFA Cup Winners Cup: ❌
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1995-96
Arsenal
European Cup / Champions League: ❌
UEFA Cup Winners Cup: 🏆
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1997–98
FIXTURE HISTORY
Arsenal
Previous 5 vs. Arsenal: 🟥 🟨 🟥 🟨 🟥
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 2001-02 |
Matchday | #41 |
League Game | #30 |
Manager Game | #5 |
Sunday, 17 March 2002
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager: Graham Taylor | 🏴 | Worksop, 2002-2003
Referee: Steve Dunn | 🏴 | Bristol, 1992-2006
Kick off: 4.00pm
HT Score: 🟥 0-1
FT Score: 🟥 1-2
FT Result: 🟥 Lost
Last 5: 🟨 🟥 🟩 🟥 🟥
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Steve Dunn | 🏴 | Bristol, 1992-2006
Previous 5: 🟥 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩
Last Match: 🟩 24 September 2001, Villa 3-1 Southampton, Friends Provident St Mary's Stadium 🆘
Cards: 🟨 🟨 🟨
CARDS
TEAM NEWS
Paul Merson and Hassan Kachloul (first start in 10) replace Juan Pablo Ángel and Mustapha Hadji.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 26.85 |
Oldest Player |
GK Peter Schmeichel | 🇩🇰 | 38.35 |
Youngest Player |
M Thomas Hitzlsperger | 🇩🇪 | 19.96 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Graham Taylor | 🏴 |
Arsène Wenger | 🇫🇷 |
Aston Villa
GK Peter Schmeichel | 🇩🇰 |
RB Mark Delaney | 🏴 |
RB Jlloyd Samuel | 🏴 |
LB Steve Staunton | 🇮🇪 |
CB Olof Mellberg | 🇸🇪 |
M Thomas Hitzlsperger | 🇩🇪 |
M Hassan Kachloul | 🇲🇦 | 🔁 |
M Paul Merson | 🏴 | 🔁 |
M George Boateng | 🇳🇱 | 🟨 |
M Gareth Barry | 🏴 |
F Darius Vassell | 🏴 | 🔁 |
Arsenal
GK David Seaman | 🏴 |
RB Laurén | 🇨🇲 |
RB Oleg Luzhnyi | 🇺🇦 | 🟨 |
CB Igors Stepanovs | 🇱🇻 | 🔁 |
CB Sol Campbell | 🏴 |
M Patrick Viera | 🇫🇷 |
M Edú Gaspar | 🇧🇷 | ⚽ |
M Freddie Ljungberg | 🇸🇪 | 🟨 | 🔁 |
W Robert Pirés | 🇫🇷 | ⚽ |
CF Sylvain Wiltord | 🇫🇷 |
CF Dennis Bergkamp | 🇳🇱 | 🔁 |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 CF Dion Dublin | 🏴 | ⚽ | for M Hassan Kachloul | 🇲🇦 | 46’ |
🔁 M Mustapha Hadji | 🇲🇦 | 🔥 | for CF Darius Vassell | 🏴 | 46’ |
🔁 M Lee Hendrie | 🏴 | for M Paul Merson | 🏴 | 80’ |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 | CB Igors Stepanovs | 🇱🇻 | (RB Lee Dixon | 🏴 |)
🔁 | M Freddie Ljungberg | 🇸🇪 | (M Gilles Grimandi | 🇫🇷 |)
🔁 | CF Dennis Bergkamp | 🇳🇱 | (CF Nwankwo Kanu | 🇳🇬 |)
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Peter Enckelman | 🇫🇮 |
M Steve Stone | 🏴 |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Richard Wright | 🏴 |
CB Efstathios Tavlaridis | 🇬🇷 |
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 5/11
Homegrown: 4/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 8/16
Homegrown: 5/16
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 2/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 4/16
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
Not recorded
UNAVAILABLE
Not Recorded
Player Abbreviations:
GK : Goalkeeper
LB, RB, FB : Left Back, Right Back, Full Back
CB, D : Centre Back, Defender
M, W : Midfielder. Winger
F, CF : Forward, Centre Forward
🟢 : Debut 🔴 : Final Game
Symbols:
⚽ | Goal
🔥 | Assist
🔁 | Substitution
🟨 | Booking
🟥 | Sending off
🆘 | Poor refereeing performance
DEBUT APPEARANCES
FINAL APPEARANCES
MATCH STATS
Not recorded
TABLE

PROGRAMME



MATCHDAY QUOTES
"We didn't really get playing until the second half.
“We deserved to get something out of the game.”
Graham Taylor.
*BBC Sport*
Sunday, 17 March, 2002
*Arsenal see off Villa*
Arsenal moved into second place in the Premier League with a tense victory over Aston Villa.
The match turned on Gareth Barry’s 55th minute penalty, which David Seaman brilliantly saved.
Arsenal were defending a slim 1-0 lead following Edu’s first-half goal - and five minutes after the penalty miss Robert Pires scored a superb goal to take the match beyond Villa.
Substitute Dion Dublin scored after 69 minutes to give Graham Taylor’s team hope of salvaging a positive result.
But despite his team’s valiant efforts to score an equaliser, Arsenal held on to collect a valuable three points as they challenge Manchester United for the Premier League top spot.
Patrick Vieira should have opened the scoring in the seventh minute.
The midfielder was completely unmarked as he met Dennis Bergkamp’s curling free-kick, but the Frenchman headed wide from six yards.
Arsenal did take the lead after 15 minutes.
Peter Schmeichel could only parry Sylvain Wiltord’s free-kick and Vieira - reacting first - shot goalwards from short range.
Villa’s Danish goalkeeper again smothered the shot but the ball broke to Edu, who slotted home for his first Premier League goal.
The home team felt aggrieved with the award of the free-kick, which was awarded for a supposedly high challenge by Hassan Kachloul on Edu.
Villa almost immediately restored parity but David Seaman saved Darius Vassell’s shot from an acute angle.
The home team forced several corners as they pushed for an equaliser but failed to trouble Seaman throughout the remainder of the half.
Villa should have equalised after 55 minutes, but Gareth Barry’s penalty was amazingly saved by Seaman.
Television replays showed referee Steve Dunn had correctly awarded the spot kick for a trip on Barry by second-half substitute Lee Dixon.
But Seaman - diving to his right - made a brilliant one-handed save to preserve Arsenal’s lead in front of England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who watched the game from the stands.
Barry’s failure to score was further punished by Pires, who scored an amazing goal five minutes later.
Pires latched onto a sweeping left-to-right pass, flicked the ball past George Boateng - completely taking the Dutchman out of the equation in the process - and lobbed it over Schmeichel from 14 yards.
Villa forced their way back into the game with a goal created and scored by the two players manager Graham Taylor introduced at the start of the second half.
Dublin headed Mustapha Hadji’s cross past Seaman after 69 minutes to set-up an exciting conclusion to the game.