Arsenal: Raya, White, Timber, Hincapie, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Eze, Saka, Merino
Subs: Kepa, Lewis-Skelly, Salmon, Norgaard, Nwaneri, Martinelli, Madueke, Trossard, Gyokeres
Arsenal suffered their first defeat in 11 games after losing 2-1 to Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday, despite a second half equaliser from Leandro Trossard.
Mikel Arteta made three changes from the team that beat Brentford on Wednesday, with Jurrien Timber, Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka replacing Cristhian Mosquera, Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke.
William Saliba failed to make the matchday squad for the third successive game, with Mosquera now expected to miss two months after being forced off with an ankle injury in midweek.
FIRST HALF
It was a cagey opening period with both sides feeling each other out, although suddenly the game burst into life with both sides having presentable chances within minutes of each other.
First it was Martin Odegaard who stung the palms of Emi Martinez from distance following a high turnover, before Ollie Watkins took advantage of some hesitant defending from Piero Hincapie to find himself through on goal – with David Raya needed at his best to react quickly and save his close range effort.
Things were beginning to heat up with challenges flying in and space opening up, and Arsenal thought they had taken the lead when Eze tapped home from close range after typically good play between Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, but Saka was offside in the build up.
With half an hour on the clock, Villa had a golden chance to take the lead after they broke from a poor Saka giveaway, with the ball making its way to Matty Cash at the back post – only for Declan Rice to charge across and block the goalbound strike.
The temperature continued to rise with Villa taking the “Chelsea approach” to physicality and landing late challenges on Arsenal players all half, with the home fans becoming increasingly frustrated about the stop-start nature of the game.
Heading towards the break, Villa were definitely taking charge of the game and they eventually found their breakthrough when Cash was on hand to slam home at the back post, rifling an effort through Raya’s legs after Eze fell asleep for a second. 1-0.
Moments later, Saka did well to create a late chance for Ben White after breezing past Ian Maatsen by the touchline but his strike lacked conviction and was comfortably saved by Emi Martinez.
This was a difficult half for Arsenal who struggled to manage the physicality and speed of Villa’s play, on top of some wasteful finishing in good areas.
SECOND HALF
Arteta reacted quickly by bringing on Leandro Trossard and Viktor Gyokeres at half time, replacing Merino who looked tired and Eze who was ineffective.
Those changes added a fresh impetus almost instantly and Arsenal were pinning Villa back deep into their half, with Trossard volleying just wide after being picked out by Odegaard at the back post.
But Trossard wouldn’t be denied much longer and he equalised seven minutes into the second half after another slick move, all starting from a Rice turnover in midfield.
The ball then broke to Odegaard, who played in Saka and his low cross (which Gyokeres would have tapped in without a crucial touch from Martinez) found its way to Trossard who made no mistake from close range. 1-1.
However, Villa did respond well to the equaliser and managed to wrestle back some control after that early Gunners’ dominance, with Watkins proving a threat in behind with Raya needed again to stop another decent strike.
The game was becoming increasingly stretched and spaces were popping up all over the pitch, with Odegaard firing into the midriff of Martinez before the Gunners captain whacked another effort that looked destined for the top corner – only for Martinez to tip over in sensational fashion.
Saka looked destined to score from the resulting corner after the ball fell his way in the penalty area, but his placed effort was blocked on the line by Boubacar Kamara which was otherwise going into the far corner.
Despite that flurry of Arsenal chances, a defensive mix-up between Calafiori and Hincapie (and a fortunate bounce) allowed Donyell Malen an effort on goal but he dragged his effort wide from a tight angle.
After some good Villa play down the left, there was a heart-in-mouth moment for Timber who made what looked like a key near-post intervention from Maatsen’s cross, only for his touch on the ball to deflect across the goalline and out to safety.
Both managers made a string of second half subs, with Madueke, Martinelli and Lewis-Skelly (who ended up replacing Trossard) all coming on in hope of closing out the game.
This was a mentally and physically draining game and in the end, a point was probably a fair result until a late scramble from Villa and some ridiculous penalty box pinball saw Emi Buendia slot into the far corner with the last kick of the game. 2-1.
It was a horrible goal to concede so late, with Arsenal having three, four and maybe even five chances to clear their lines in quick succession but Villa kept fighting, got the bounce and found their crucial touch.
The players were visibly flagging and after a tough period – both in the league and in Europe – this was a cruel blow and maybe one step too far.