Arsenal were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Aston Villa on Saturday night in the Premier League as the North London side lost ground on title rivals Liverpool.
Mikel Arteta’s side opened the scoring in the 35th minute after Gabriel Martinelli beat the outstretching Emiliano Martinez to give the Gunners a 1-0 lead going into halftime. 10 minutes into the second half, Kai Havertz extended Arsenal’s lead, but Youri Tielemans halved the deficit five minutes later to giving Villa a lifeline. Ollie Watkins’ equaliser in the 68th minute means the away side take a point back to the Midlands.
Embed from Getty ImagesBoth sides now turn their attention to the Champions League as Mikel Arteta’s side host Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday night, while Villa travel to France to play Monaco away on Tuesday.
What happened?
The home side started strongly, with Martinelli testing Martinez within the first four minutes, but the goalkeeper made a sharp save to deny the 23-year-old.
However, the Gunners‘ good start was nearly undone when Ian Maatsen was found in the 18-yard box and got a powerful shot away but Raya made a fine save to keep the score level in an entertaining first 15 minutes.
Arsenal started to take control after a fast start but struggled to create any clear-cut chances to test Martinez, with Ollie Watkins being a threat on the break for the visitors.
At the 30-minute mark, Watkins was gifted a huge opportunity after an error at the back from Thomas Partey handed him a brilliant chance – but the 29-year-old couldn’t keep his shot down.
Four minutes later, the home side broke the deadlock after Leandro Trossard found Martinelli at the back post, and the winger poked his effort past Martinez to give Arsenal a deserved lead. Martinez made a good save initially, but the ball crossed the line just before the goalkeeper could keep it out. The Gunners looked to extend their advantage before the break, but Unai Emery’s side saw the rest of the first half out.
Embed from Getty ImagesArsenal picked up where they left the first half and should have extended their lead after Myles Lewis-Skelly did brilliantly to beat his man and drove a good ball into the six-yard box, but no teammate was there to turn it home.
Arteta’s side then did get their second of the game in the 55th minute through a much-needed goal for Havertz. Trossard again played a beautiful ball into the box, and the striker tucked it past Martinez to extend the Gunners‘ advantage.
However, five minutes later, Youri Tielemans got on the end of a Lucas Digne cross to halve the deficit. The Belgian nearly scored his second one minute later, but his effort hit the post and went out for a goal kick to leave Arsenal narrowly leading with half an hour remaining.
The comeback was complete in the 68th minute when Matty Cash found Watkins at the back post, and the striker’s volley beat Raya to stun Arsenal and dent their title chances. The Villans pushed for a winner and, in the 86th minute, had a brilliant chance through substitute Lamare Bogarde, but Raya saved his effort.
The Gunners thought they had retaken the lead through Mikel Merino in extra time, but the midfielder’s effort was ruled out for a handball on Havertz in the build-up as the game ended 2-2, leaving Arsenal six points adrift of Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
The lineups
ARS: Raya; Lewis-Skelly, Magalhaes, Timber, Partey; Merino, Rice, Ødegaard; Martinelli, Havertz, Trossard
ATV: Martinez; Maatsen, Mings, Konsa, Cash; Onana, Kamara; Ramsey, Tielemans, Rogers; Watkins