Arsenal began their game with Aston Villa knowing that title rivals Liverpool had dropped three points at home to Crystal Palace earlier in the afternoon, potentially reducing — on Grand National weekend — the Premier League’s three-horse title race down to two.
For Villa, Tottenham’s comprehensive defeat at Newcastle yesterday gave them a chance to consolidate fourth place.
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Mikel Arteta’s side had the best of the goalless first half against Unai Emery’s team — generating 14 shots and 1.23 expected goals — but Villa’s Ollie Watkins probably came closest, with a shot that hit the left-hand post and span the whole way back along David Raya’s goal line.
Villa endured an even odder woodwork combination from a Youri Tielemans shot in the second half but the visitors dominated after the break, and two goals in three minutes from Villa in the closing stages left Arsenal stunned and Manchester City in a very familiar position at the top of the table.
Here, our writers break down some of the key talking points from today’s match.
Where does this leave Arsenal in the title race?
Arsenal’s defeat to Aston Villa will sting even more after Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace. Jurgen Klopp’s side left the door open for them to take control in the title race and Arsenal failed to take advantage.
Despite a promising start and largely dominant first half, Arsenal’s decision-making held them back throughout and proved costly. Their approach play was not the issue as they managed to create openings but passing when a shot was necessary, or not having bodies running into the right areas, hurt them.
Further down the pitch, they also kept giving Aston Villa encouragement. Whether it was Oleksandr Zinchenko taking a touch too many in a dangerous area or Gabriel’s mistake which saw Ollie Watkins hit the post, they were living too dangerously at 0-0.
That caught up with them as Villa gained momentum late into the match. Individually, Declan Rice and William Saliba being more aware could have prevented the opener while Emile Smith Rowe being more aggressive could have stopped the second.
Now level on points with Liverpool, two behind leaders Manchester City, Arsenal are now chasing after having the chance to lead right there in their hands.
Art de Roche
In praise of Aston Villa’s midfield
In the reverse fixture against Arsenal, when Villa were playing at their best, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans were deployed as the two No 10s, with Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara as the midfield pivots.
But today, with Villa not having either of Luiz and Kamara for the first time since April 2022, McGinn and Tielemans were required to play deeper in defensive roles that were both physically taxing and tactically challenging.
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Emery has previously harboured reservations over Tielemans’ ability to play in a double pivot due to his physicality and acceleration. But in the first half against an Arsenal side that overloaded central areas and perpetually aimed to make third-man runs in the inside channels, he and McGinn stuck to their tasks well, despite being dragged around by their direct opponents, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard.
McGinn made the most interceptions (two) and blocks (four) of any player on the pitch before the break, while in possession Villa were brave in playing out from defence and under huge pressure.
At times, Tielemans would evade pressure inside his own box, before playing into the feet of Morgan Rogers, who was impressive playing just ahead of them. Despite their hectic fixture list and the obvious challenges Arsenal posed, it gave Villa some level of control, with 45 per cent possession and a threat on the break.
They may not be the midfield pairing Emery wishes to use in these games, but needs must. And they got even better in the second half, assuming more control and dominance, with Tielemans’ assist for Watkins’ goal a reward for the energy and endeavour he put in.
Jacob Tanswell
One of Martin Odegaard’s finest performances?
Martin Odegaard’s playmaking juices have been flowing for a while, but this was one of his best performances for Arsenal, even with the final scoreline in mind.
From leaving his opposite number in the splits, to scooped passes inside the box and constant defensive contributions, Odegaard once again showed why Mikel Arteta made him Arsenal captain 18 months ago.
The 25-year-old set the tone and showed why so much of his work is not dependent on whether it ends in a goal or an assist. Early on, it was the connection between himself and Bukayo Saka on the right that caused Aston Villa problems, as he found the England winger repeatedly in the first half.
His influence was not limited to that pocket of the pitch, however. The midfielder also drifted across to the left side of the pitch to combine with Kai Havertz, once with that gorgeous pass, as well as with dinked balls in behind the Villa defence.
Also key to Odegaard’s impact was his relentless off-ball work. The standout moment came when his block on a Villa clearance resulted in an Arsenal corner, but his job pressing Pau Torres became more important considering Saka’s job was to follow Lucas Digne up the touchline when the visitors had possession.
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This continued into the second half, with important interventions inside the Arsenal box before he was replaced by Emile Smith Rowe. Once off, the Norwegian’s absence was felt as his performance had been exemplary. It was as pure a demonstration of playmaking as you could get.
But as was the case during Arsenal’s results over Christmas, his efforts were not rewarded.
Art de Roche
Do Arsenal have magic goalframes?
Fortunes did not favour Villa in either half, hitting the woodwork twice — and in peculiarly similar ways.
The first came after a mistake from Arsenal’s back line which presented Watkins with the type of chance Emery would have hoped and envisioned before the game. Driving into the box, Watkins shifted the ball out of his feet and shot across the face of the goal, hitting the inside of the far post yet somehow bouncing away from the goal line.
The second was perhaps far more galling. Tielemans picked up the ball from the second phase of a corner, cutting inside and whipping an effort, again, towards the far post. The Belgium international’s shot hit the underside of the crossbar, before then ricocheting off the post and away from danger.
It was not what Villa deserved given the effort and discipline they had put into executing the game plan, having become an increasing threat throughout and gaining greater authority.
So, in some ways, Villa’s two late goals were richly deserved and a result of the effort they had put into assuming control before.
Jacob Tanswell
Was Havertz wasted in midfield?
For all Mikel Arteta’s recent talk about not wanting to disrupt Kai Havertz by moving him out of the frontline, his use of the German as a left-sided No 8 against Villa was not a complete surprise.
In Havertz’s last outings in that position, he did not truly play as a midfielder. He and Leandro Trossard almost played as a more traditional two-man strike partnership, with one coming short and the other going in behind. With Jesus starting at centre-forward against Villa, after an impressive cameo against Bayern Munich, Havertz stretching the play was vital.
He repeatedly got in behind in the left half-space, but like earlier in the season, execution was the issue. When he got into those areas on his own, Havertz took too long to fashion a shooting opportunity. When in there with a chance to provide a cutback, he did well but nobody was supporting him to tap in.
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Those issues were particularly costly the longer the game went on. Considering the issues Jesus gave Bayern in midweek, this could well have been a potential warm-up for the second leg.
Using Havertz to crash the box while Jesus causes havoc with the ball at his feet could give Arsenal two different but valuable ways of breaking Bayern down. But they will need to be much more efficient — as will Leandro Trossard, who had a close-range shot, created by Jesus, saved from inside the six-yard box.
Art de Roche
A very good day for Villa
It was an outstanding effort from a Villa side who were playing three days after their exertions in Europe and without their first-choice midfield pairing of Kamara and Douglas Luiz.
Victory was nothing short of what they deserved considering the chances they created (hitting the woodwork twice) and were unfortunate not to score at least once.
With Champions League-chasing rivals Tottenham Hotspur soundly beaten 4-0 at Newcastle yesterday, it was a huge result for Villa, moving them three points ahead of Spurs, who have a game in hand, in fourth place.
Jacob Tanswell
What did the managers say?
Villa boss Unai Emery said: “Yes… on 63 points… we can be Champions League contenders. The only way to win here is to keep ball possession. If we just tried to run in behind for 90 minutes, it would have been difficult. We defended fantastically. Like we did against Man City, but we lost. Today was the same idea. We used some analysis of that match in our preparation.
“It was the same plan after half time. The second half was to continue building up, avoiding their press and with (Nicolo) Zaniolo, we started holding up the ball more — he was fantastic.”
Arteta quotes to come.
What next for Arsenal?
Wednesday, April 17: Bayern Munich (A), Champions League, 8pm UK, 3pm ET
What next for Aston Villa?
Thursday, April 18: Lille (A), Europa League, 5.45pm UK, 12.45pm ET
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(Top photo: Getty Images)