Arsenal score twice in injury time to lead title race

Arsenal scored twice in stoppage time to win a six-goal thriller at Aston Villa and return to the top of the Premier League.

Jorginho’s shot deflected in off Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez to put Arsenal 3-2 up before substitute Gabriel Martinelli raced clear to score as Villa chased an equaliser.

Villa twice led, through Ollie Watkins and Philippe Coutinho, in the first half.

They were pegged back by goals from Bukayo Saka and Oleksandr Zinchenko either side of the break.

Victory ended Arsenal’s run of three games without a win and took them back above Manchester City after losing to them in midweek.

There was an electric pace to the game from the off, and Villa took the lead inside five minutes through Watkins’ fourth goal in as many matches.

He caught Arsenal cold on the counter, latching on to Matty Cash’s long pass before beating William Saliba and finding the far corner.

It took only 11 minutes for Arsenal to respond. Moments after Tyrone Mings cleared Eddie Nketiah’s shot on to the crossbar, Saka levelled with a powerful effort into the roof of the net.

Coutinho, making his first league start under Villa boss Unai Emery, put the hosts back in front, rounding off a wonderful team move with a calm finish from inside the area.

On the hour Zinchenko found space at the edge of the box and fired in at the near post from a short corner for his first Arsenal goal, before Nketiah fired over minutes later.

Martin Odegaard shot wide with 14 minutes remaining and it looked as though it would not be Arsenal’s day until Jorginho and Martinelli’s vital contributions.

 

Source: BBC SPORTS