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Arsenal came back from behind to defeat Aston Villa 4-2 in the Premier League on Saturday, February 18. The result takes them back to the top by three points, having played the same number of games as Manchester City.
Villa entered this game on the back of two wins and three losses in their last five games across competitions. They lost their last league outing 3-1 to Manchester City and were also shockingly eliminated from the FA Cup by Stevenage. However, Unai Emery and his men were eager to prove a point against the Spaniard's former club.
The Gunners, on the other hand, entered the game on the back of a crushing 3-1 defeat against City. Despite making a good start, mistakes cost them the game as they conceded their lead at the summit to Pep Guardiola's side. Mikel Arteta made one change for this game as he fielded a strong lineup.
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Aston Villa made a cracking start to the game as they capitalized on an error by Oleksandr Zinchenko near the touchline. Matty Cash won the ball and drove forward before releasing Ollie Watkins into space on the left channel. The striker kept his composure before shimmying to make space and fired a low shot past Aaron Ramsdale to make it 1-0 after just six minutes.
Arsenal did well to maintain their composure and their tempo as they held onto to the ball in tight spaces. Their persistence helped as Tyrone Mings' scuffed clearance fell straight to Bukayo Saka, who smashed in the equalizer in the 16th minute. Despite the momentum the Gunners had after the goal, they looked vulnerable on the counter.
The hosts produced a brilliant move just after the half-hour mark as they took the lead for the second time. Alex Moreno played the ball into Arsenal's box that fell to Philippe Coutinho after a lovely dummy by Emiliano Buendia. The Brazilian kept his cool and tucked the ball into the bottom-left corner to make it 2-1. Aston Villa carried a one-goal lead into the break.
Both sides made a relatively reserved start to the second period after a frantic end to the first half that resulted in a melee. Arsenal had an injury scare soon after the restart as Saka went down clutching the back of his right leg. However, he was back on his feet and ready to continue after some treatment. Nketiah then showed great athleticism, leaping highest as his header struck the crossbar.
Zinchenko then made up for his error in the first half as Saka played the ball to him near the edge of the box from a short corner. The Ukrainian cushioned the ball and then fired a low shot into the bottom-right corner from 20 yards out. Both managers then turned to their benches as they made changes. The teams played out a nervy 20 minutes before they entered the crucial six minutes of added time.
Jorginho received the ball from a wide area in the 93rd minute and fired an effort first-time, which rattled the crossbar before bouncing off former Arsenal custodian Emiliano Martinez's head before going in. The Argentine then came up for a corner a couple of minutes later and Aston Villa conceded their fourth from a smart counter-attack started by Fabio Vieira and finished by Gabriel Martinelli.
Arsenal secured a massive three points with a 4-2 win over Aston Villa. On that note, let's take a look at the player ratings from the game.
Arsenal Player Ratings
Aaron Ramsdale - 6.5/10
Ramsdale made three saves throughout the game, including a crucial stop to deny Leon Bailey late in the game when the scores were level at 2-2.
Benjamin White - 6.5/10
White had a decent game as he won two of his five duels. He was active on the overlap and played one key pass, one cross, and two long balls.
William Saliba - 6.5/10
Saliba used great restraint as he did not make a tackle on Watkins, allowing him enough space to score in the sixth minute. However, he played well in the second half, forcing Watkins wide and nullifying his threat. Saliba won five duels and made four clearances.
Gabriel Magalhaes - 6.5/10
Gabriel put in a decent performance for Arsenal as he won three of his five duels. He made one clearance and one tackle, playing three long balls.
Oleksandr Zinchenko - 7.5/10
Zinchenko made an early error which eventually led to Aston Villa grabbing an early lead as he gave the ball away cheaply. However, he made up for that by scoring his first-ever goal in the Premier League to make it 2-2 in the second half. He also won three duels and played five long balls.
Granit Xhaka - 6.5/10
Xhaka struggled at times in midfield and was caught out of position during transitions. He won five of his nine duels, blocking one shot in the process. He also played three long balls.
Jorginho - 7/10
Jorginho was effective for Arsenal on the ball as he passed it with 89% accuracy, including two key passes and four long balls. He also won five duels and hit the crossbar once with a venomous effort, leading to an own goal by Martinez late in the game.
Martin Odegaard - 7.5/10
Odegaard played well but was often hot or cold in terms of his impact on the game. He provided an assist for Zinchenko to score to make it 2-2, before scuffing a 1-v-1 chance to win the game for Arsenal after Nketiah won the ball high up the field.
Bukayo Saka - 7.5/10
Saka scored a thumping goal to level things up in the first period as he put in a combative performance. He attempted six shots, hitting the target twice. He won 10 duels and completed three dribbles. Saka was also booked for retaliating after being fouled.
Edward Nketiah - 6.5/10
Nketiah attempted five shots but failed to hit the target. He was especially unlucky with his headed attempt in the second half which kissed the crossbar and fell to a Villa defender.
Leandro Trossard - 7/10
Trossard was handed a start and put in a decent performance with the ball at his feet. He played one key pass, two crosses, and three long balls. He passed the ball with 88% accuracy and won two of his four duels.
Substitutes
Gabriel Martinelli - 7/10
Martinelli came on in the second half and scored an open goal as Martinez was stranded upfield following a corner.
Fabio Vieira - 7/10
Vieira came on late in the game and showed great composure to release Martinelli for Arsenal's fourth goal late in the game.
Takehiro Tomiyasu - 6.5/10
Tomiyasu replaced Ben White and put in a strong performance to help close out the game.
Rob Holding & Kieran Tierney - N/A
The pair came on in second-half stoppage time and did not play enough minutes to warrant a rating.
