On Sunday, Arsenal chased another victory in the Premier League’s very top tier. This time, fourth-placed Aston Villa were the opposition at the Emirates Stadium, and a win would see the Gunners take sole control of the league title.
That was not the case. But we take it from the beginning.
Before the match, the Daily Mirror stated that there were question marks over Gabriel Magalhaes and Jakub Kiwior. When Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta presented his eleven, it was clear that the brass were included from the start, while the latter took his place on the bench.
The “Gunners” started the summit brightly and created a dangerous chance early on. Kai Havertz ran free in the penalty area and took a shot from a tight angle, but Emiliano Martínez in the Aston Villa goal made a seemingly simple save.
– A rather weak finish, noted expert Gary Neville in Sky Sports.
At the end of the first half it really heated up. In both directions.
First Ollie Watkins was given an open position following carelessness in the home camp but the Aston Villa forward’s shot hit the post. In the attack followingwards, it was Arsenal’s turn to threaten when Leandro Trossard finished from close range – but Martínez responded with a superb display.
“We all probably need to catch our breath following the last few minutes. Gabriel was millimeters from costing Arsenal a goal once more, before Martinez responded with a brilliant save,” writes Sky Sports’ Joe Shread.
At the start of the second half, Aston Villa came close to breaking the deadlock once more. Youri Tielemans then tried a shot that hit the bar and then straight down the post – but the ball did not find its way into the goal.
– Oh my God. Watkins in the first half (post hit) and Tielemans now in the second. I do not know how the ball not has finished yet, said Gary Neville on Sky.
But in the end the payoff came.
In the 84th minute, Leon Bailey struck. The Aston Villa star appeared at the far post and sent a low cross into the open goal to make it 0-1.
– A monumental goal for Villa, and a monumental goal for the title fight! It was in the air. Aston Villa have played very well. Arsenal fans are shocked. It almost felt like the moment their world came crashing down before their eyes, Neville said.
Just a couple of minutes later, Ollie Watkins extended the lead further, and that settled the final score. Aston Villa won the match 2-0.
The loss means that Arsenal missed the chance to go up to the sole league lead. Instead, Manchester City now top the league with six rounds to play. Both Arsenal and Liverpool – who also fell on Sunday – are two points behind.
“Arteta and (Jürgen) Klopp have a lot of work ahead of them to prevent their season from collapsing. How do they recover from today?” Gary Neville asked himself.
Aston Villa, in turn, consolidates its fourth place in the table.
– This was a fantastic victory, says coach Unai Emery to Sky Sports.
Colleague Mikel Arteta had a gloomier expression:
– We lost. Congratulations to Aston Villa, he says.
– We cannot control (Manchester City). What we can control is that we get a streak where we win, win, win, win. It is easy. This is a defining moment for us. How we react to this bang. If we want to win, we have to get through situations like this. The team has to show it.
Startelvor:
Arsenal: Raya – White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zintjenko – Odegaard, Rice, Havertz – Saka, Jesus, Trossard.
Aston Villa: Martinez – Konsa, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres, Digne – Zaniolo, Tielemans, McGinn, Roger – Diaby, Watkins.
