Aston Villa vs Arsenal LIVE: Premier League result and reaction after late goals from Martinez and Martinelli
Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal: Late goals complete Arsenal comeback as they move to the top of the Premier League
Arsenal twice battled back from behind as stoppage time goals from Emiliano Martinez and Gabriel Martinelli helped them to a hard-fought victory at Aston Villa to reignite into their Premier League title bid.
Martinez, a former Arsenal goalkeeper, could do nothing as Jorginho’s strike cannoned off the crossbar and struck the back of his head to settle a thrilling contest 4-2 in favour of the Gunners.
Ollie Watkins and Philippe Coutinho sent home side ahead on two occasions, only for Bukayo Saka and Oleksandr Zinchenko to equalise for Arsenal and keep them in the contest.
The Gunners’ winless run looked set to continue before Martinez inadvertently helped out his old side and substitute Martinelli tapped into an empty net after the goalkeeper went up for a late corner.
Relive the action as Arsenal defeat Aston Villa in the Premier League:
Elsewhere in the Premier League
There are six matches taking place at 3pm in the English top flight but not much else to talk about. Only two of the current games have seen a goal in the first half.
Here’s how things stand at half-time:
Brentford 0-0 Crystal Palace
Brighton 0-0 Fulham
Chelsea 0-1 Southampton
Everton 0-0 Leeds
Nottingham Forest 0-1 Manchester City
Wolves 0-0 Bournemouth
Coming up later on Newcastle take on Liverpool at St. James’ Park. We’ll be building up to kick off with all the team news and updates so stick with us.
Arsenal bounce back to seal stunning late comeback win over Aston Villa
Aston Villa had tried to kick Arsenal when they were down. Instead, Mikel Arteta’s side stand up, in the most scarcely possible way possible. On a thunderous afternoon at Villa Park, Jorginho’s stunning strike from the edge of the box cannoned off the underside of the crossbar, rebounding off the back of former Arsenal goalkeeper Emi Martinez, denying former Arsenal manager Unai Emery, and, somehow, keeping Arsenal’s Premier League title bid alive.
This was a statement response from Arteta’s challengers: they faced not only the shortest possible turnaround from Wednesday’s defeat at home to title rivals Manchester City, a result that threatened to suck the air out of their challenge as Pep Guardiola’s side returned to the top of the table, but also an Aston Villa side who sensed an opportunity. This was as good a time to play Arsenal as you could hope for, and yet as Gabriel Martinelli raced away to score Arsenal’s fourth into an empty net in the 98th minute, sealing a 4-2 comeback win, it’s hard to imagine how Arteta’s team could have reacted to their defeat to City in a better way.
The scenes in the away end at full-time told you that, and with the four-game blip is over, it’s now about how this dramatic lift win can lift Arsenal and give them a second wind in the title race. Manchester CIty will certainly feel it. But at times here, Arsenal’s dip in form threatened to turn into a five-game slump, especially as first Ollie Watkins and then Philippe Coutinho fired Villa in front, before Villa rattled the crossbar when chasing a winner late on.
Arsenal bounce back to seal stunning late comeback win over Aston Villa
Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal: Jorginho’s shot ended in an Emi Martinez own goal deep into injury time, before Gabriel Martinelli netted an even later open goal to send the Gunners back to the top
FT Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal
Reaction from Arsenal midfielder Jorginho who told BT Sport: “That’s the Premier League. That’s why it’s the best league in the world. It’s just beautiful.
“It was very important after the last results we had. The start wasn’t easy when we were not producing our game. We came in at half-time, had a chat and then we went back doing the basics we need to do and changed the game.
“The last time I hit the post and it went back off the keeper it didn’t go in so I’m glad today it did.”
FT Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal
Reaction from Arsenal goalscorer Oleksandr Zinchenko: “From this game I would like to say two things. First we took an unbelievable lesson for all of us that we need to believe until the very end.
“Like I said in the past, this group has such amazing people, can achieve everything they want. If we are going to keep fighting and keep believing. The reaction from all of us in the second half is a perfect way to go.
“I’m so happy to help with my goal but most important is to take the three points.
“We would like to go in the dressing room as soon as possible but there are still a lot of games to play and we just need to keep going, keep fighting and keep believing we can do everything.”
FT Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal
Arsenal have won a Premier League game they were losing at half-time outside of London for the first time since December 2009 when they beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield.
FT Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal
Gabriel Martinelli’s goal is his first goal contribution in 7 Premier League games, ending his longest run without a goal or assist since April 2021.
FT Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal
Aston Villa have conceded 4+ goals in consecutive home matches for only the second time in their top-flight history, with the previous instance coming in 1935/36.
FT Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal
Oleksandr Zinchenko has scored his first goal in the Premier League in his 92nd appearance in the competition, with what was his 74th shot.
He is Arsenal’s 13th different scorer in the Premier League this season, the most of any team (excluding own goals).
FT Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal
Arsenal are back on top.
A wonderful encounter at Villa Park saw the Gunners twice fight back after going behind before two goals in stoppage time - the first a lucky own goal off the back of Emi Martinez’s head and the second a counter-attack with Aston Villa chasing an equaliser - sees them jump back ahead of Manchester City a reclaim top spot in the league.
This was an important victory for Mikel Arteta’s men. They needed to collect three points today after losing to City during the week. The title race is still on.
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal
90+9 mins: There was late drama indeed. Arsenal score twice in stoppage time to secure all three points and move back to the top of the Premier League.
It was a superb fightback from the Gunners who twice came from behind to eventually win the game.
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