Arsenal 3-2 Aston Villa: Three reasons why The Gunners managed a comeback victory | Premier League 2019/20

Arsenal completed a comeback victory over Aston Villa, winning 3-2 at the Emirates despite having fallen to a 2-1 deficit and being a man down for over 50 minutes of the match in the Premier League on Sunday.

John McGinn put the visitors ahead in the 20th minute, before Ainsley Maitland-Niles was shown a red card for a second bookable offense in the 40th minute to make Arsenal's task much more difficult.

Nicolas Pepe opened his goals account for the Gunners 15 minutes into the second half when he converted from the spot after the continuously improving Matthew Guendhozi had been fouled in the penalty box, but Unai Emery's men fell behind once again barely 60 seconds later to a Wesley header.

Calum Chambers restored parity with nine minutes to go, and star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ensured all three points with a splendid free-kick from just outside the box.

The victory sees Arsenal climb up to 4th on the table and in this piece, we shall be highlighting three factors that contributed to Arsenal's comeback victory over Aston Villa.

#3 Their second-half fightback

Arsenal showed great determination in the second half.

Over the years, Arsenal have faced criticism of having a soft underbelly, and not possessing the wherewithal to go for the kill when in commanding positions.

This is a problem that still exists till this day, and nowhere was this more evident than in the clash against Watford last week.

At Vicarage Road, Arsenal let a very comfortable two-goal half-time lead evaporate as the hosts totally dominated proceedings and dictated the tempo of the game upon resumption of the second 45, with Unai Emery's men being very lucky to have left Hertfordshire with a points.

Against Villa, with Arsenal one-man down and trailing; going by their antecedents, the game was as good as over, and when Wesley put the visitors ahead right from kickoff after Pepe's equalizer, it seemed like the game was going to script.

However, the North London outfit showed great grit and determination to salvage something from an improbable situation, and while they were not at their aesthetic best in the game, no one can accuse the Arsenal players of not showing heart and commitment.

Long ball after long ball was hauled into the Villa box, as the home side tried to force the issue, and they got their reward when Callum Chambers got to the end of one to level matters for Arsenal.

Aubameyang's exquisite free-kick wrapped up proceedings with six minutes to go, and while it might have seemed highly unlikely at half-time, Arsenal's second half determination played a major role in seeing them get the victory.

Also check out: Premier League Table La Liga Table Champions League Schedule

#2 Aston Villa failed to press home their advantage

Dean Smith's men are left ruing a great opprtunity.

Arsenal were overwhelming favorites to triumph in the clash with Aston Villa, but the visitors somehow found themselves in the lead, and their chances of success were boosted further when the home team were reduced to 10 men just before half-time.

This meant the the West Midlands side had over 50 minutes with a one-man advantage, and given Arsenal's tendency to collapse when put under pressure, Dean Smith's men should have pressed home their advantage.

They carved through Arsenal's non-existent midfield to create chances for themselves, but were let down by a lack of composure in the final third.

To put this in perspective, Aston Villa managed 14 shots in the game, with nine being on target, but only a handful of those shots on target truly tested Bernd Leno in the Arsenal goal.

After seeing their initial lead canceled, Aston Villa were handed another lifeline with McGinn putting them 2-1 up, and were still in the driving seat with nine minutes to go, but they somehow managed to capitulate which did a great disservice to the commanding position they found themselves in.

C̶e̶n̶t̶r̶e̶ ̶b̶a̶c̶k̶D̶e̶f̶e̶n̶s̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶m̶i̶d̶f̶i̶e̶l̶d̶e̶r̶R̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶b̶a̶c̶k̶Penalty-box poacher ✅Well played, @CalumChambers95 👏 pic.twitter.com/LTyQGTdS81

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 22, 2019

#1 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's moment of brilliance

Aubameyang settled the contest with a fine free-kick.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been nothing short of spectacular since arriving Arsenal in January of 2018 for a then club record fee.

The Gabone has scored goals for fun for the Gunners, with his tally of 38 goals from 55 Premier League matches serving as proof of his lethal nature in front of goal, while he jointly won the Golden Boot last season with 22 goals.

This season, he has continued from where he left off, and came into the game against Villa as one of the form strikers of the campaign, having scored five goals from five matches to put him in the race to retain his Golden Boot.

The way the match played out, it was always going to take a moment of brilliance to settle the contest, and that proved to be the case late into the game.

Arsenal were awarded a freekick from 21 yards with six minutes remaining, and with three Gunners lining over the dead ball, the 30-year-old took responsibility to put the home side ahead for the first time in the match.

Though not famed for his freekick abilities, Aubameyang produced a spectacular effort, dipping the ball over the wall and into the back of the net.

Given the close nature of the set-piece, it required excellent technique to get the ball to dip over the wall, and the former Dortmund man produced a stunning moment of brilliance to complete Arsenal's comeback.

This man right here ❤️#ARSAVL pic.twitter.com/kh4NaiHWel

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 22, 2019