Aston Villa beat Arsenal 2-1 at Villa Park on Saturday as Emiliano Buendia won it with the final kick of the game, as Villa moved just three points behind Arsenal in the table.
The Premier League title race has been blown wide open.
WATCH — Full match replay
Villa took a deserved lead through Matty Cash but Arsenal improved massively in the second half as substitute Leandro Trossard made it 1-1.
It looked like that was how it would end but Emiliano Buendia scored with basically the last kick of the game to send Villa Park wild as the hosts have now won five games in a row.
MORE — Mikel Arteta reaction: ‘It is painful’
With the win Villa move on to 30 points, with Arsenal on 33 points. The defeat is just Arsenal’s second in 22 games in all competitions this season.
Gunners run out of steam
Given the injuries they’ve had, especially in defense and up front, Arsenal have rotated so well to keep on winning in recent weeks. But they ran out of steam at Aston Villa on Saturday. They started well but then faded and were behind at the break. Then Arteta brought on the returning Trossard and Gyokeres and they kicked on again to equalize and it looked like they were the more likely to win it. But then Arsenal faded again and failed to manage the game properly as Villa won it with the final attack of the game. Arteta will be disappointed with the way his side didn’t close this out to grab a point but when you look at the team which finished this game, six players have just returned from injury and you had Timber playing out of position and Hincapie asked to go again after being out of the team for most of the season. It all caught up with Arsenal, and that’s fine, but it gives all of the other teams round them belief that they can hang in the title race. That is the last thing Arteta wanted ahead of the busy festive period with key defenders nursing injuries and plenty of other big players just coming back from injuries and not yet up to speed.
What’s next?
Aston Villa head to Basel in the Europa League on Thursday before heading to West Ham on Sunday. Arsenal travel to Club Brugge on Wednesday and host Wolves on Saturday.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal score: 2-1
Cash 36', Buendia 90+5'; Trossard 52'
Aston Villa vs Arsenal live updates! — By Joe Prince-Wright
Buendia curls home!
That was coming! Villa have won it with the last kick of the game. They keep an attack alive, Raya makes a fine save, but the ball drops to Kamara who scrambles it to Buendia and he curls home to send Villa Park absolutely bonkers. What a moment!
Villa have stepped it up as we approach the final few minutes
It’s all Villa now, as they are pushing hard for the win. Arsenal seem to have run out of steam. Just over five minutes plus stoppage time to go. Can either team find a winner?
Malen drags his shot wide
What a big chance for Villa as Donyell Malen, just on as a sub, latches onto a loose ball but drags his shot inches wide of the far post.
Martinez denies Odegaard with a brilliant save
Martin Odegaard spanks a beauty of a shot towards the top corner and it looks destined to fly in. But Emiliano Martinez makes a magnificent fingertip save to deflect the ball over the bar. What a save that is.
Villa should be ahead!
Awful error from Arsenal as Calafiori gives it away to Kamara but Hincapie saves him. Kamara took too long there. He had to shoot or square it quickly. Moments after Watkins is denied by Raya. Villa are back in it.
Trossard equalizes!
Brilliant from Arsenal as they deservedly equalize. Odegaard finds Saka and his cross takes a flick and eventually finds Trossard who finishes. Once again Trossard has had a huge impact off the bench. Villa are all over the place.
Arsenal have started the second half superbly as Trossard volleys just wide
Well, this is much better from Arsenal. Those subs seem to have put them on the front foot and Odegaard’s lovely dinked ball finds the sub Trossard and his volley across goal skips just past the far post. Arteta applauds. It is all Arsenal.
Trossard and Gyokeres on at half time for Eze and Merino
Arteta has made two half time changes and Leandro Trossard and Viktor Gyokeres are on. Eze and Merino both struggled to get into the game, so this makes sense.
Half time: Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal
Morgan Rogers almost setting up Tielemans for a second right on half time sums up that breathless first half from Villa. They have been excellent on the counter and Arsenal haven’t been able to match their physicality. Villa deservedly lead and as it stands sit just three points behind the Gunners. Can Arsenal respond early in the second half? They’ve had some bright moments in attack down their right side but are struggling down their left. Arteta will surely change something very soon.
Cash smashes home at the back post!
Lovely cross from the left by Maatsen goes all the way to the back post and Cash arrives perfectly to smash home. Villa Park erupts! 1-0 to Villa just before half time.
Rice blocks Cash’s shot
Matty Cash is found at the back post but Declan Rice comes out of nowhere to block his shot. Villa look very dangerous on transitions.
Eze has the ball in the net, but Saka was offside
Lovely play down the right from Arsenal and Saka is in and picks out Eze to tap home... but the offside flag is up. Saka was just off. Great combination play between Saka and Ben White.
Saka goes close twice!
Bukayo Saka drills a shot on goal from distance which Martinez pushes away. Odegaard picks up the loose ball and eventually the ball is crossed in but Saka heads wide. Great end-to-end game, this!
What a save from Raya to deny Watkins!
Calafiori goes down as McGinn catches him off the ball. But play goes on and McGinn sets up Watkins who somehow dances past a few tackles and is clean through on goal. But his low shot is saved superbly by David Raya as Villa looked certain to go 1-0 up.
Aston Villa lineup
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Kamara, Onana; McGinn, Tielemans, Rogers; Watkins
Arsenal lineup
Raya; White, Timber, Hincapie, Calafiori; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Merino, Eze
Aston Villa team news, focus
Emiliano Martinez pulled out of the win at Brighton in the warm up and despite an early mistake for Brighton’s opener, Marco Bizot came in and made a big stop late on to secure the win. Ollie Watkins scored a double and looked sharp, while Villa have an impressive array of options in midfield and attack. Only Ross Barkley and Tyrone Mings are out with injuries.
Arsenal team news, focus
Declan Rice hobbled off late on against Brentford but it seems like he will be fine, while Cristhian Mosquera had to be subbed off in the first half as Arsenal lost another center back to injury with William Saliba and Gabriel still out. That means Jurrien Timber could line up at center back with Ben White at right back. Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard are still out, while Gabriel Jesus has been on the bench and is working his way back to fitness after a long time out. Arteta rotated heavily against Brentford but the likes of Saka, Eze, Timber and Gyokeres should all start in this one.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal preview
Unai Emery’s side won a thriller at Brighton on Wednesday, fighting back from 2-0 down to go 4-2 up and eventually they held on for a 4-3 win. Villa’s attack is firing again and if they can improve defensively, they may even sneak their way into this title race as they sit in third in the table and just six points behind Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta’s much-changed Arsenal were professional in their 2-0 home win against Brentford on Wednesday as they kept their five-point lead atop the table with minimum fuss. Arsenal have struggled against Villa in recent seasons and with injuries piling up, it will be intriguing to see if squad players keep on stepping up.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal prediction
This feels like a draw and Arsenal will probably be okay with this given how much their squad has been stretched in recent weeks. Aston Villa 1-1 Arsenal.
How to watch Aston Villa vs Arsenal live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 7:30am ET Saturday (December 6)
Venue: Villa Park — Aston, Birmingham
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
