Aston Villa 0-3 Arsenal: Arsene Wenger's decision to keep faith in Mesut Ozil pays off as the £42million man shines for the Gunners

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Like all great managers, Arsene Wenger is at his best when being written off and bombarded with advice from supporters who should know better.

The call from Arsenal fans for the manager to sling out Mesut Ozil had reached fever pitch in the build-up to Saturday's match at Villa Park.

So what did Wenger do? He ignored popular opinion, made Ozil the focal point of his team and relegated midfielder Jack Wilshere and the popular striker Alexis Sanchez to the bench.

Mesut Ozil evades Philippe Senderos to latch on to Danny Welbeck's pass and score Arsenal's opening goal against Aston Villa

Welbeck adds to Arsenal's lead a minute later, tapping the ball past Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan from close range for his first Gunners goal

Aly Cissokho (left) scores an own goal to make it 3-0 to Arsenal in the space of four minutes

Then he sat back and watched Ozil and deadline-day signing Danny Welbeck tear Villa to shreds with three goals in the space of little more than three minutes.

Wenger admitted that dropping his £42million record buy from Real Madrid — pilloried for his poor showing in Tuesday’s Champions League defeat against Borussia Dortmund — might destroy his fragile confidence.

Instead, he moved the 25-year-old into a central position where he could affect play — and Ozil did not let him down with a goal and assist.

‘I didn’t really consider leaving out Ozil,’ said Wenger. ‘I have a lot of attacking players and you are always looking to find the right balance. Alexis Sanchez for example has played every game and I felt he needed a rest.

‘I wanted Ozil to play behind their midfield. It was important for him to find space between the lines and it worked.

‘I felt we were at the point where I had to show confidence in him. You never know how people respond to being left out. It’s a sensitive point.’

Improbable as it sounds, Paul Lambert’s men could have gone top of the table with a victory here, with the only team above them at kick-off, Chelsea, playing Manchester City on Sunday.

But Villa’s chances were dealt a cruel blow following a training ground virus which cost them Darren Bent and Nathan Baker in the morning, Ashley Westwood in the pre-match kickabout and Andreas Weimann at half-time.

Even at full strength, Villa would have been hard-pressed to stop Ozil in this mood, as he belatedly showed everyone why he has just won a World Cup.

The German does not like the rough stuff but, in terms of talent and composure on the ball, he is up there with the best, as his opening goal in the 33rd minute showed.

When Welbeck found Ozil on the edge of the box, two shaven-headed Villa players hurtled towards him; goalkeeper Brad Guzan off his line and defender Philippe Senderos from the side. 

Villa captain Gabriel Agbonlahor hurdles a challenge from Calum Chambers in the opening minutes at Villa Park

Welbeck (centre) produces an acrobatic effort on goal as Villa defenders Alan Hutton (right) and Senderostry to block the ball

Ozil sets himself and holds off Senderos to slot his first goal of the season past Guzan

Ozil looks like he means business as he celebrates his opening goal for Arsenal

Ozil (right) is congratulated by team-mates Welbeck (second right), Kieran Gibbs (second left) and Aaron Ramsey

Mesut Ozil's heat map after he played the 'No 10' role showed he played all across the pitch just behind the striker... for more go to our brilliant Match Zone 

The completely unflustered No 10 simply looked up and stroked a left-foot finish underneath Guzan’s arm with the nonchalance of someone nipping out to get a pint of milk at the corner shop. 

A minute later, Ozil turned provider for Welbeck to net his first Arsenal goal. As Wenger pointed out, it was almost a carbon copy of the striker’s close-range effort for England against Switzerland.

This time, Ozil played the Wayne Rooney role with a whipped-in cross from the left. Welbeck ran into the six-yard box like a good centre forward and finished with one touch into the roof of the net.

The only difference this time was that he made a good connection with the ball rather than the shinned version in Basle. Wenger said: ‘Knowing how people look to see how long it takes a new signing to score, I’m glad he did it now!

‘He was able to score it because of the timing of his run. It was a good all-round performance.’

Poor Villa were shellshocked and rueing two early saves made by Wojciech Szczesny from Fabian Delph and Ciaran Clark while the score was 0-0. 

Poor Aly Cissokho tried to stop Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from getting on the end of a Kieran Gibbs cross and succeeding only in turning the ball into his own net.

Three goals in 192 seconds and the contest was all but over. The second half was akin to a training ground exercise, with Villa not wanting to be slaughtered and Arsenal saving themselves for bigger challenges ahead.

Welbeck takes the congratulations from Chambers (centre), Santi Cazorla (left) and Ramsey (right, partly obscured) after his goal

A view from behind as Welbeck steers home Arsenal's second from close range via Guzan's face

‘It was a response we needed after Tuesday,’ said Wenger, whose side are still unbeaten in the Premier League this season. ‘Villa started well but after that we were in control. We scored three and it was a possession game after that.’

Villa’s tally of two shots on target actually upped their average for the season — their early success has been based on clean sheets.

Lambert cited medical problems as a reason why his team did not have more of a go at Arsenal in the second half.

‘The players were running on empty,’ he said. ‘Against a team like Arsenal, you can get beaten by six if you’re not careful. We had to keep confidence intact.’

Villa will close their training ground this week to try and stop the virus spreading and Lambert is keen this heavy defeat does not dent morale after what had been a promising start to the season.

‘We had so much bad luck with all the players and staff having the bug,’ he said. ‘We weren’t the best prepared and we have to look back on a tally of 10 points from our first five games, which is good.’

Then, without a hint of irony, Lambert said about the defeat: ‘We have to take our medicine.’

Wenger has not been beaten at Villa Park for 15 years and he will spend the week mulling over where Ozil should fit in next.

‘He can play anywhere,’ said the Arsenal manager. ‘He likes to be central but you can find 10 players in my squad who like to play in the middle!’

Danny Welbeck scored his first goal for Arsenal from close range after a nice move down the left... for more go to our brilliant Match Zone

Gibbs (right) fires in the shot which led to Cissokho's own goal and Arsenal's third

Senderos (centre) tries to encourage Villa's shell-shocked players after Cissokho's own goal made it 3-0

Villa midfielder Carlos Sanchez puts in a hefty challenge on Welbeck as the hosts look to stem the tide

Fabian Delph takes the ball past England colleague Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the midfield

Oxlade-Chamberlain runs at Cissokho on a torrid afternoon for the Villa left back, who was taken off at half-time

Chambers (right) wins a header against Ciaran Clark (second right) as Arsenal clear a dead ball

Ramsey and Tom Cleverley vie for the ball during a more keenly-contested second half

Ramsey contraols the ball in midfield with Arsenal in a comfortable position at Villa Park

Roy Keane cuts a menacing figure with his foot on the ball as CHambers looks to get the game restarted quickly

Arsene Wenger is given a pre-match hug by Aston Villa's mascot and it seems the hosts' players were equally generous