Red mist clears as Campbell seals win

Arsenal 2 Aston Villa 0

Sloppy Villa defending gave Campbell, facing an FA charge and already suspended for a red card from Sunday's visit to Manchester City, the chance to head home following a Robert Pires corner the visitors should have cleared. Arsenal just about deserved the points against a Villa side who started negatively against the pace of Henry but then had their share of chances before the Frenchman scored at the death.

David O'Leary, in his latest return to Highbury where he was Arsenal's leading appearance-maker, left England striker Darius Vassell on the bench and handed midfielder Mark Kinsella his first start for Aston Villa this season.

The former Leeds United boss was seeking a first victory with his new side but looked to have set out a plan designed to protect a point against an Arsenal team unchanged from that which posted opening Barclaycard Premiership victories against Everton and Middlesbrough.

Thierry Henry took just three minutes to launch his first typically rampaging run for Arsenal but his surge from halfway was finally blocked by weight of numbers in the Villa area.

Within two minutes though, after Gilberto headed away a Villa free-kick by Hendrie, Pires sent Henry on his way again, bursting past Mark Delaney down Arsenal's left and denied only by Thomas Sorensen's brave advance off his line.

Arsenal tried to draw Villa onto them in the hope of launching quick counter-attacks but the ploy almost backfired when Lee Hendrie was allowed a sharp shot from outside the area on 12 minutes. Luckily for Arsene Wenger's team goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was right behind the delivery and gathered safely.

But a minute later Villa were having to survive another marvellous raid by Henry, who swept between Delaney and skipper Olof Mellberg to chip Kolo Toure's through-ball over the head of stranded keeper Sorensen only to see the ball fall just wide.

Almost before Villa could draw breath again, Freddie Ljungberg took Henry's pass and another audacious chip was sailing over Sorensen this time cannoning back into play from the crossbar. Sylvain Wiltord threw himself at the rebound but the angle was too difficult for him to steer it back on target.

Arsenal, not unfamiliarly, were sometimes guilty of complacency, and Toure had to come to the rescue, hacking the ball away after Campbell and Lehmann left a loose ball to one another. There was an even bigger escape in the 26th-minute when JLloyd Samuel's hard work down the left set up Juan Pablo Angel for a right footed flick which beat Lehmann's grasp but rolled inches past the far post with Ulises de la Cruz running in just too late for what would have been an easy slot into an empty net.

Arsenal had certainly lost some of their earlier panache and hard-working Villa looked to have carved out another good chance when Gareth Barry crossed superbly from the left. The header by de la Cruz somehow landed in the grasp of the prostrate Lehmann but an offside flag had already been raised in any case.

Villa were prepared to mix it as well as play and Delaney and Angel were both booked for fouls on Pires and Vieira.

Arsenal grabbed the lead through Campbell's header in the 58th minute after a bizarre defensive effort by Samuel, who sidefoot-volleyed a Pires corner towards the top corner of his own goal. Hendrie leapt instinctively to head the ball out, but straight to Campbell, who nodded home.

Almost immediately O'Leary sent on Vassell to replace Kinsella and within a minute Angel whistled a 25-yard free-kick over the Arsenal wall and just wide of a post with Lehmann beaten. Arsenal countered by sending on Dennis Bergkamp for Wiltord with 67 minutes gone but they soon had Vieira booked for pulling down Samuel. In injury time, though, Henry ran clear down the left to slip home the second Arsenal goal.

ARSENAL: Lehmann, Lauren, Campbell, Toure, Cole, Silva, Vieira, Pires, Ljungberg, Wiltord, Henry.

ASTON VILLA: Sorensen, Delaney, Mellberg, Samuel, Johnsen, Barry, Hendrie, De la Cruz, Whittingham, Kinsella, Angel.

Referee: M Dean (Wirral)