It is unusual to witness an opening minute that summarises precisely what will happen over the following 89, but in this desperate performance Aston Villa’s gameplan was exposed from the outset. After 50 seconds Aaron Ramsey set Theo Walcott through on goal, forcing Jores Okore into a last-ditch tackle. That should have been an early-warning sign for Villa but they failed to adjust their approach and continually invited Arsenal to play simple through-balls for onrushing forwards.

Villa defeated Arsenal 3-1 on the opening day of last season with a fine counterattacking performance at the Emirates but on Sunday Paul Lambert ordered his side to play high up the pitch and press in midfield, which exposed the Villa backline to Arsenal’s pace. Worryingly, it seems Lambert did not learn his lesson from earlier in the season at Villa Park, when Arsenal counterattacked through Mesut Özil and Danny Welbeck and won 3-0, all the goals coming before half-time. That was Arsenal’s biggest away win of the season, and this was their biggest home win of the season. The Villa manager has retained a reputation as a decent tactician despite struggling overall, but this strategy is a serious cause for concern.

Villa’s problems were obvious throughout. There was far too much space both in behind and in front of their four-man backline, which meant Ramsey, Özil and Santi Cazorla could play through-balls while Walcott and Olivier Giroud could sprint in the gaps. Playing a high defensive line against Walcott is risky, which is why Lambert dropped Aly Cissokho for the first time in the league this season, instead deploying the pacy Kieran Richardson. But Walcott simply drifted into central positions and only poor control denied him more than one goal.

Walcott running in behind the defence with ease is sometimes unavoidable because of his sheer speed but when Giroud – hardly the quickest striker – runs past the defence, takes two poor touches and still has time to lift the ball over Brad Guzan without a significant challenge, it is obvious there has been a huge organisational failing.

That should not detract from the quality of Özil’s backheeled volley to set up Giroud’s opener – maybe the assist of the season – and it was obvious how Özil thrived with space to break into, as in the reverse fixture. Just as he and Welbeck assisted each other at Villa Park for the first two goals, he and Giroud did the same here, with the Frenchman prodding through the defence and Özil measuring a finish inside the far post.

Arsenal were so rampant it was occasionally difficult to deduce their system. It started as 4-3-3 but with Özil drifting inside from the left, Walcott starting right but popping up in inside-left positions – including for the third goal – and Cazorla buzzing around everywhere, it was Total Football at times. It was the opposite of their structured, solid performance in the impressive 2-0 win at Manchester City a fortnight ago, again underlining their new-found tactical flexibility.

Nevertheless, it was simply too easy for Arsenal, because it is exactly the type of approach they love playing against: half-hearted midfield pressure and a high defensive line. Although Villa’s goalscoring struggles are obvious – it’s now more than 10 hours since they found the net – they could previously depend upon a good defensive record. Before this game, only the top four had conceded fewer goals. Lambert was presumably attempting to fix the attack by being more proactive but away at Arsenal is not the time to be bold, and this was a shambolic display that will prompt serious questions about the manager’s future.