FT 2 : 4
Arsenal scored twice in stoppage time to win a six-goal thriller at Aston Villa and return to the top of the Premier League.
Villa twice went ahead through Ollie Watkins and Philippe Coutinho in the first half.
They were pegged back by goals from Bukayo Saka and Oleksandr Zinchenko either side of the break, before Arsenal sealed victory in a dramatic finish.
Mikel Arteta’s side ended a run of three games without a win to climb back above Manchester City after defeat to them in midweek.
There was an electric pace to the game from the off, and Villa took the lead inside five minutes through Watkins’ fourth goal in as many matches.
He caught Arsenal cold on the counter, latching on to Matty Cash’s long pass before beating William Saliba and finding the far corner.
It took only 11 minutes for Arsenal to respond. Moments after Tyrone Mings cleared Eddie Nketiah’s shot on to the crossbar, Saka levelled with a powerful effort into the roof of the net.
Coutinho, making his first league start under Villa boss Unai Emery, put the hosts back in front, rounding off a wonderful team move with a calm finish from inside the area.
On the hour Zinchenko found space at the edge of the box and fired in at the near post from a short corner for his first Arsenal goal, before Nketiah fired over minutes later.
Martin Odegaard shot wide with 14 minutes remaining and it looked as though it would not be Arsenal’s day until Jorginho and Martinelli’s vital contributions.
There had been so much talk about Arsenal’s title chances after losing to City, despite the fact that they went into this game level on points with a game in hand.
For long periods they looked like they may come up short again. But they proved their mental strength with those stoppage-time goals, as well as the fact they twice came from behind.
There was no panic as they probed and pushed late on, even when Nketiah and Odegaard missed chances and Villa were going for it themselves.
Winning titles is about overcoming adversity under pressure, and that is exactly what Arsenal did today
Credit: BBC Sports
Wow, what a dramatic win for Arsenal. They were on the verge of losing again. I hope this win will boost their already dying confidence. Consistency is what they need now.