Good ebening and Buendia, Arsenal! Gunners broken in the hell of Villa Park

Last season, Arsenal were the only Premier League side to take three points home from Villa Park, but today, they weren't that lucky. On the contrary, they suffered their first loss since August 31, and it was as painful as it gets - 2-1!

The match was extremely physical, with both teams courageously going for the win. The Villans broke the deadlock in the 36th minute through Matty Cash, while the visitors responded seven minutes after the break over the substitute Leandro Trossard.

Either rival had its chances to win the whole thing, but the home team was focused enough to seize one of them in the final second of the match, when Emiliano Buendia exploited a melee in Arsenal's box and smashed the ball into the net, moving Villa to the second spot, at least until Man City play their clash against Sunderland.

The rivals set an amazing rhythm from the first referee's whistle, and the fact that the first foul in the game was committed after 22 minutes speaks volumes.

The Gunners threatened several times over Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze (whose opener was disallowed for offside), and Ben White, and generally had more shots on target, but none of the efforts ended up behind Emiliano Martinez's back.

On the other hand, the Villans' Ollie Watkins wasted a colossal chance in the tenth minute, when David Raya superbly stopped him one-on-one.

Unai Emery's men were less dangerous overall, but they made one of their opportunities count!

In the 36th minute, following Pau Torres' cross and Jurrien Timber's mild reaction, Matty Cash sneaked behind Eze's back, waited for the ball at the far post, and smashed it into the net through Raya's legs, putting Aston Villa in front at the break.

The fact that Mikel Merino and Eze stayed in the locker room at halftime, leaving their places on the pitch to Viktor Gyokeres and Leandro Trossard showed good enough how dissatisfied Arteta was with his team's first-half performance. At the same time, Arsenal dominantly took control of the match from the very beginning of the second period and shortly threatened over the Belgian.

And just seven minutes into the second half, it was 1-1! Declan Rice stole one ball in the rivals' half, Odegaard and Saka continued the attack, the Gunners' "Starboy" assisted, and Trossard proved to be his manager's "super sub," easily netting an early equalizer.

Following the (shocking) leveller, the Villans woke up and posed a danger in the 64th minute, but Raya once again terrifically denied Watkins, who shortly left the pitch, replaced by Donyell Malen. Either way, due to fatigue or something else, the pace was much lower than during the first half.

Twenty minutes before the end, Martinez pulled off an outstanding fingertip save, denying Odegaard's long-range effort, as Arsenal's pressure was increasingly higher as the final minutes of the match approached.

Arsenal shop at Caicedo's academy

However, that sort of attitude inevitably leaves room for the rivals' counterattacks, and after one such, Malen nearly punished the Gunners' (too) courageous tactic, but fired it wide off Raya's right post.

Still, the Gunners weren't that lucky in the final seconds of the match, when Emery's super sub, Emiliano Buendia exploited a melee in the visitors' box and seized the chance, netting the priceless winner, that moved Villa to the second spot, just three points behind Arsenal, at least until Man City - which have a chance to reduce the gap behind the London side to just two points - play their duel against Sunderland (18.00).

PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 15

Saturday

Aston Villa - Arsenal 2-1 (1-0)

/Cash 36, Buendia 90+4 - Trossard 52/

18.00: (3.30) Bournemouth (3.70) Chelsea (2.20)

18.00: (2.25) Everton (3.35) Nott.Forest (3.50)

18.00: (1.28) Man.City (6.75) Sunderland (10.5)

18.00: (1.30) Newcastle (5.50) Burnley (10.0)

18.00: (2.35) Tottenham (3.40) Brentford (3.00)

20.30: (4.20) Leeds (4.00) Liverpool (1.85)

Sunday

17.00: (1.60) Brighton (4.35) West Ham (5.70)

19.30: (2.55) Fulham (3.25) Crystal Palace (2.85)

Monday

23.00: (4.60) Wolverhampton (3.60) Man.Utd. (1.80)

***odds are subject to change***