Aston Villa once again dented Arsenal’s Premier League title charge after coming from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Emirates Stadium.
ARS
2–2
AVL
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Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz gave the Gunners a seemingly comfortable lead, with the hosts looking set to close the gap to leaders Liverpool, who beat Brentford earlier on Saturday.
But Youri Tielemans reduced the deficit on the hour with a thumping header past David Raya, before Ollie Watkins completed the comeback eight minutes later.
Arsenal thought they had won it when Mikel Merino’s strike deflected off Havertz, with the goal given on-field but then overturned by the referee when a VAR review found the ball went in off the German’s hand.
Villa’s comeback moves them up to seventh in the table, while Arsenal stay second, but are now six points behind Arne Slot’s side, who also have a game in hand.
How the match unfolded
The Villans survived Arsenal’s early wave of pressure and almost took the lead when Ian Maatsen stung the palms of Raya.
Emiliano Martinez then denied Leandro Trossard at the other end, but he was unable to stop Martinelli giving Arsenal the lead, despite his best efforts to claw the ball away on the line.
The Gunners increased their lead 10 minutes after the restart when Trossard teed up Havertz, who turned the ball home from close range.
Tielemans led the Villa comeback with a powerful header from substitute Lucas Digne’s cross; Watkins was then on target against the Gunners once again with a fierce finish.
Havertz thought he had earned a valuable three points when he turned in Merino’s strike, but he was adjudged to have used his hand by the referee following a VAR review.
Merino then struck the post late on, with Trossard seeing his strike from close range brilliantly saved by Martinez as the Gunners were unable to find the breakthrough in stoppage time.
Gunners falter against nemesis
In April 2024, Arsenal had their Premier League title bid dented by a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium. Now, they may have this season’s title slip away from them, against the same opposition on home turf.
The Gunners started the contest strongly, being on the front foot with their possession and deservedly taking the lead through Martinelli. They were also aware of the threat Villa posed on the counter-attack, having seen both Maatsen and Watkins go close before the opening goal was scored.
Arsenal continued to go in search of their second goal, with Havertz heading Martin Odegaard’s free-kick over and Myles Lewis-Skelly’s teasing cross threatening to cause trouble for Villa, although no one in a red shirt was there to tuck the ball into the net.
Havertz then grabbed the strike their dominance merited, but the hosts were unable to hold their lead as two goals in eight minutes pegged them back in front of their home supporters.
Arsenal had chances to win it late on, with Havertz’s disallowed goal being followed up by efforts from Merino, who struck the post, and Trossard, whose strike was saved by Martinez.
Arteta’s men will be looking to bounce back from this draw when they visit Wolverhampton Wanderers next Saturday.
Villa are the Emirates villains again
Much of the talk surrounding the fixture was Arsenal’s pursuit of leaders Liverpool, but Villa had their own ambitions as they chase another place in Europe.
The visitors had to come from behind to earn a point. Having posed a threat to the Gunners in recent meetings with them, Watkins was again troubling the hosts’ defence, who were without William Saliba through injury.
Emery’s gameplan seemingly allowed Arsenal to enjoy having possession but looked to hit them on the break. Watkins proved a tricky customer to handle for Jurrien Timber and Gabriel Magalhaes, with the England international almost punishing Thomas Partey’s wayward throw-in just two minutes before Martinelli opened the scoring.
Though handed a hammer blow by Havertz’s strike, the visitors continued to be a threat in the final third and grabbed a goal through Tielemans, with Emery’s substitute at half-time, Digne, providing the assist.
Watkins scored in their 2-0 win over the Gunners last year and got himself on the scoresheet again with a fine finish. The Villans could even have won it late on when Lamare Bogarde’s strike was spilled by Raya.
Villa will be hopeful of building on their display, when they host West Ham United in the Premier League next Sunday.
Club reports
Arsenal report | Villa report
What the managers said
Mikel Arteta: “Pride [at] the way the boys played and competed, the third time in six days. To deliver that dominance, that performance, they were outstanding. We deserved much more, that’s clear. The way we defended, especially the second goal, can’t be part of our game.”
Unai Emery: “Fantastic. Brilliant how the players reacted after the two goals – it was fantastic. In our mentality, we never give up and today we never give up and we tried to score. Arsenal were pushing and creating some chances, but even with that we have another.”
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Key facts
Arsenal have failed to win a Premier League home game in which they led by 2+ goals for the first time since October 2019 (2-2 v Palace), having won each of their last 46 before tonight.
Villa avoided defeat in a Premier League away game in which they trailed by 2+ goals for the first time since November 2013 (2-2 v West Bromwich Albion), ending a run of 52 straight defeats.
Watkins has scored six Premier League goals against Arsenal, with four of those coming at Emirates Stadium. Since joining Villa ahead of the 2020/21 season, no visiting player has scored more away goals against the Gunners than Watkins.
Arsenal have dropped 12 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, their most in a single campaign since 2019/20 (21).