Matty Cash
Aston Villa secured a thrilling victory against Arsenal with a last-minute goal from Emi Buendía, sealing a 2-1 win at Villa Park. The match saw Aston Villa take the lead in the first half, only for Arsenal to equalize shortly after the break through Leandro Trossard. However, Buendía’s decisive strike in the dying moments ensured all three points for the home side, much to the delight of the Villa faithful in the Holte End.
Matty Cash said: “Unbelievable. One of the best [moments]. Unbelievable. Then, when that went in at the end, wow. I went absolutely mental. I think I jumped on the gaffer at one point. First time I’ve done that! It felt a little bit surreal, to be honest. It was such a good moment. I think we stayed in the game well. We defended the box well. Had moments ourselves as well to maybe win the game before.”
Cash continued: “You’ve just got to try and prepare the best you can, do a lot of recovery. They’re [Arsenal] in great form as well, obviously, but we are as well. So we went into the game wanting to win the game. The manager made it clear before the game that we’re here to win. Obviously, at Villa Park we’ve got our fans with us. Such a fortress here. So that was the message: to win the game.”
Reflecting on the challenge, Cash added: “It was a massive test. I think they’re probably one of the best teams in Europe. You’re looking at the Champions League, they’re flying in the Premier League. They’re probably favourites to win it. So it was definitely a big challenge for us to see where we were at. We were probably saying the same thing when we played against Man City as well and managed to beat them. But it’s still early days. I think they’re a fantastic team. They’re going to be up there all season. I think we’ve shown in recent times that we can sort of go toe-to-toe with the top teams.”
On title aspirations, Cash remarked: “It’s hard to say. When you look where we are at the minute, obviously we’re three points behind Arsenal. We’re in a fantastic position, but we’re not even at Christmas yet. So I think we’ve got to have a bit of Christmas dinner first before we think about that! It’s obviously great to be in a position, but we’ve got loads of football left. So, as I said, talking here and now, it’s great to be second. We want to keep being consistent and demanding and hopefully we can have a good run.”
Cash further explained: “I think the manager said it the other day, every game we’re learning new experiences and we’re getting better from it. I think obviously when we first got into Europe, it’s obviously new to some players. Then you have a year in the Conference League and you have experiences there. Then you go into the Champions League and it’s like, wow, it’s new to some players again. But every week we’re gaining different experiences, you know? And I think that will better us as a team 100%. Obviously, this year we’ve had a lot of experience in Europe in the last few years.”
Aston Villa’s victory against a formidable Arsenal side highlights their growing confidence and ability to compete with top teams. The win places them in a strong position in the league standings, just three points behind Arsenal. As the season progresses, Villa aims to maintain their momentum and continue challenging at the top. The team’s resilience and ability to secure results against top-tier opponents are promising signs for their aspirations this season.
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