Aston Villa landed a proper punch in the title race with a dramatic 2-1 win over league leaders Arsenal at Villa Park, nicking it with virtually the last kick of the game and leaving Mikel Arteta staring at his first defeat since August. Matty Cash fired Villa ahead in the first half, Leandro Trossard came off the bench to level, and then Emiliano Buendia smashed home the winner at the death to blow the roof off the place.
Villa wasn’t fluking it either. The game was frantic, messy, brilliant both sides missing sitters and thumping shots straight at goalkeepers who, on another day, might has been picking the ball out of the net five times. David Raya, jittery early on, almost gifted Villa a goal with a horrible clearance, while Ollie Watkins who once had Arsenal posters on his wall forced a sharp stop after Youri Tielemans’ neat flick put him clean through.
Cash, already a hero for Villa this season, lashed in the opener on 36 minutes after Ian Maatsen’s cross was helped onto him at the back post. Arsenal looked rattled, and the stats didn’t favour them only one win from 15 league games when trailing at half time, a grim reminder of how fragile they can look when chasing a game. So Arteta rolled the dice, chucking on Trossard and Viktor Gyokeres to try and spark something.
Trossard obliged. Barely on the pitch, the Belgian went close twice before finally burying Saka’s low cross in the 52nd minute, a tidy finish at the far post for his sixth of the campaign and 50th Premier League goal overall. Arsenal puffed their chests out after that, pushing Villa back and testing Emiliano Martinez with a few rockets, including a vicious hit from Martin Odegaard that was superbly tipped over.
But Villa weren’t merely hanging on. Watkins and Donyell Malen both went close on the counter and the match descended into a proper end toe and scrap boots flying, fans roaring, everyone pretending they wasn’t terrified. Arsenal looked like they’d cling onto a point, but when they made a mess of clearing a hopeful ball in stoppage time, Buendia belted it high into the net from 12 yards. Cue pandemonium.
It’s Arsenal’s first defeat since that 1-0 loss at Liverpool back in August, and another miserable afternoon against Unai Emery, the ex Gunners boss who has turned Villa into something serious this season. Seven wins on the spin in all competitions has them sitting just three points off Arsenal, and Manchester City can close the gap to two if they sort Sunderland later tonight.
Emery’s been brushing off all the title talk, insisting Arsenal are the “strongest team in Europe”, but this felt like a statement win. Arteta’s lot are battered at centre back Saliba, Gabriel and Cristhian Mosquera all out, forcing Jurrien Timber inside alongside Piero Hincapie, and the makeshift pairing never looked entirely comfy. Arteta’s hinted that they’re ready to spend in January if the right player pops up, and on this evidence they might need more than just a warm body.
Defensive reinforcements, maybe another forward too, will be essential if Arsenal are to stop this campaign drifting like the last few. Villa, meanwhile, look like a side suddenly smelling blood organised, nasty in moments, capable of scoring late and loving the chaos. And they’ve just shoved themselves firmly into a title race nobody thought they’d be anywhere near in August.