How often Arsenal can rely on Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz to continue creating chances and goals to stay in the race for trophies remains to be seen. It worked well enough last season, with 89 points no mean feat, but with Gabriel Jesus sidelined with a groin injury and Eddie Nketiah on the verge of a £30m move to Nottingham Forest, it took a decisive contribution from Leandro Trossard as a substitute to set last season’s Premier League runners-up up for victory over Aston Villa.

How long Mikel Arteta can keep Trossard happy was a question that arose after witnessing the Belgian’s muted reaction to scoring with his first touch after coming on as a second-half substitute. But the Arsenal manager dismissed any such concern. “When you don’t get picked, there are certain ways to react,” Arteta said. “Leo is angry, but he’s angry and he shows on the pitch how good he is – not angry and coming in and reacting badly. That’s a huge quality.

“Then when you put him in the starting line-up, he does exactly the same thing. That’s a big message and a big example for the rest of the team and for me.”

A player of Havertz’s finesse, brought in as an advanced midfielder as your attacking linchpin, helps the aesthetics of dominating possession, but Arsenal can’t continue to expect Trossard to come off the bench and score so many crucial goals. Despite starting just 18 Premier League games in his first full season at Arsenal, the Belgian is behind only Saka (16) and Havertz (13) in the top scorers’ charts, with 12 goals in the Premier League and 17 in total.

He didn’t look particularly pleased when he scored the decisive goal and had to be persuaded to put on his trademark glasses to celebrate the victory.

Can such a quality player, despite his unquestioned professionalism, still be happy knowing he is playing second fiddle? Yet Gabriel Martinelli, when he performs well, helps to stretch the opposition defence so well. Arteta has said he needs to use more of his team this season after relying on a large core, but the lack of a natural number 9 is noticeable. It would be wonderful to win the title this way, but is it feasible?

By the time Thomas Partey made it 2-0, thanks in no small part to a fumble by Emiliano Martínez, Arsenal fans were allowed to chant their former goalkeeper’s name with impunity. But with Tottenham and Manchester City set to follow after their next game with Brighton, just as the expanded Champions League gets underway, perhaps Arteta wants to find a way to make his squad feel integral.

Signing Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad for £32.6m would open up even more creative options, but while the Spanish midfielder is a class upgrade on Partey, it will be crucial to give both players more playing time. Whether Merino improves their ability to defend against the kind of counter-attacks that teams like Villa are so fond of is a debatable point. And if it means Declan Rice taking on the anchor role, that will come at a cost too, such as the England midfielder’s ability to receive and drive.

If Ollie Watkins hadn’t missed two big chances in a goalless game, the result could have been similar to last season’s, when Villa won the double against the Premier League’s runners-up. Fireworks, bizarrely for the time of year, had gone off in the Doug Ellis Stand midway through the first half, making little visual impact in the cool blue evening air. But when Leon Bailey dispossessed Gabriel Magalhães of the ball a minute later and Morgan Rogers wrong-footed Watkins into sending a mistimed shot wide, the disappointment at not scoring was offset by the hope the possibility had inspired. The blue box had been lit.

The near capacity home crowd cheered, heartened by the reminder that Arsenal are not invincible. It was against these opponents in April, after all, that Arsenal’s title hopes had foundered. Arsenal dominated the ball, of course, with 69 per cent possession at the break. But Villa led on xG when they conceded.

If Watkins, who had not scored a league goal since his goal at the Emirates Stadium, had shown more conviction when diving to head home a rebound after Amadou Onana’s deflected shot hit the bar, Arsenal might have regretted their lack of sharpness.