Mueez Ajao
– 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.
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– 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.
A thriller at Villa!
Arsenal return to the top of the PL. For now…#AVLARS pic.twitter.com/Y7UZIaGCBd
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 18, 2023
