Aston Villa defeated Premier League leaders Arsenal 2-1 at Villa Park, with Emiliano Buendia scoring the winner in the 95th minute to seal the title race.
The substitute scored almost the last kick of a heated game to inflict defeat on Mikel Arteta’s side and move Villa past Manchester City into second place. They achieved an amazing result of winning 9 out of 10 games, leaving them 3 points behind the Gunners.
Matty Cash led Villa to victory in the first half, but Arsenal had a chance to take the lead when Leandro Trossard came on as a substitute early in the second half to equalize. Emiliano Martinez made a sensational save from Martin Odegaard.
But Buendia was the hero, sparking wild celebrations in front of the Holte End and giving Manchester City the chance to win and move within two points of Arsenal. Villa themselves will be dreaming of a Premier League title.
Matty Cash sacks Aston Villa against Arsenal as Eberechi Eze looks on disappointed
How Villa achieved their dramatic victory
Arsenal needed David Raya to make a good save from Olly Watkins early on, but Martinez was certainly busy at the other end too, with Eberechi Eze’s goal also ruled out for offside. However, it was Eze’s switch in defense that led to Cash’s first goal.
The Villa full-back played the ball free to Raya, who broke through. Manager Arteta brought on Trossard and Victor Goqueres in place of Eze and Mikel Merino, which quickly turned the tide, but after that it became a fierce battle with many ups and downs.
It would be wrong to say either side earned a point, but Arteta opted to pull his scorer off and bring on Miles Lewis-Skelly in a bid to tighten up and avoid a first defeat since August, while Martinez spent a significant amount of time kicking a goal in the 94th minute.
But Buendia’s rare composure in the ensuing melee changed the face of the season as Villa pushed themselves forward in the box and Arsenal were unable to clear their lines as Holte End supporters sucked the ball towards goal.
Arteta: The table is already close.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said this at a press conference.
“It’s disappointing the way we lost the game. First of all, congratulations to Villa, because they are a very good team and did what they were supposed to do very well. I thought they would win the game.”
“Today’s result could have been different, but the reality was not. We were unbeaten in 18 games and now we are close in the standings.”
Arteta admitted that Trossard only played limited minutes and had to be substituted in the second half. “Leo’s situation was that he could only play for a certain amount of time. We decided to play early and that’s why we had to change him.”
The challenge now is to get the team back on track. “Everything they’ve put in these last two weeks to lose like that is emotionally moving. It’s not worth everything they spent, but it just feels like it was worth it,” Arteta explained. “It’s going to make us a better team again.”
