Arsenal complete stunning turnaround against Aston Villa to reignite title charge

Arsenal got back to winning ways in the Premier League as the Gunners scripted a morale-boosting 4-2 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday to return to the top of the table. Mikel Arteta’s side trailed Aston Villa twice in a breathless encounter at Villa Park but produced a stunning second-half turnaround to secure the three points, with Emiliano Martinez’s 93^rd-minute own goal sealing a priceless win for the title challengers.

The North London side headed into this vital fixture on a run of three winless matches in the league, and the Gunners got off to the worst start imaginable, conceding inside the opening five minutes. Ollie Watkins ran through on goal after an error from Oleksandr Zinchenko and beat William Saliba before unleashing a stinging strike past Aaron Ramsdale to put Villa ahead early on.

Arsenal responded strongly to going behind and equalised just ten minutes later. Tyrone Mings’ poor header fell to the feet of Bukayo Saka, and the Englishman laced the ball into the roof of the net to bring the Gunners back on level terms. However, Aston Villa retook the lead just after the half-hour mark as Philippe Coutinho finished off a superb team move following a clever dummy from Emiliano Buendia at the edge of the box.

Arsenal needed to complete a miraculous second-half turnaround to keep their title hopes alive, and the Gunners improved dramatically after the break, pinning Villa in their half with waves of pressure. Eddie Nketiah struck the crossbar with a superb header before Oleksandr Zinchenko pulled Arsenal level for the second time in the game with a sweet strike in the 61^st minute from a corner, scoring his first goal for the club.

The Gunners should have taken the lead later in the half when Eddie Nketiah’s willing pressing set up a golden chance for Martin Odegaard, only for the captain to fluff his lines and miss the target from close range. Aston Villa had an excellent chance of their own to score a third, but Aaron Ramsdale proved equal to Leon Bailey’s powerful strike to keep the scores level.

The visitors pushed on heading into the final moments of the game and found a deserved winner in the third minute of stoppage time. Jorginho rattled the crossbar with his stinging shot from the edge of the area and the ball ricocheted off the crossbar onto the head of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and back into the net to put Arsenal in front.

The Gunners even had time to add a fourth moments later, with Fabio Vieira finding Gabriel Martinelli on a counter and the Brazilian walking the ball into an empty net after Emiliano Martinez had ventured forward for a corner. This result takes Arsenal back to the top of the table, giving the Gunners a three-point lead over Manchester City with a game in hand.