Arsenal suffered a devastating 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime, surrendering their five-point lead atop the Premier League table in dramatic fashion.
Emiliano Buendia's stoppage-time winner completed a remarkable comeback for Unai Emery's side, dealing a significant blow to the Gunners' title aspirations.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery reacts
Matty Cash gave Villa a deserved first-half lead with a thunderous finish at the back post in the 36th minute, capitalizing on Arsenal's struggles to contain the hosts' energetic pressing.
The right-back's half-volley from a deflected cross caught David Raya off guard, sending Villa Park into raptures and rewarding the home side's dominant opening period.
Mikel Arteta responded decisively at the interval, introducing Leandro Trossard and Viktor Gyokeres for the ineffective Eberechi Eze and Mikel Merino.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery Related
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It would be a head turner.
The Belgian substitute made an immediate impact just seven minutes into the second half, converting a rebound after Emiliano Martínez could only parry Bukayo Saka's initial effort. Trossard's poacher's instinct at the back post hauled Arsenal level and appeared to shift momentum decisively in the visitors' favour.
Arsenal dominated possession throughout the second period, creating numerous opportunities to snatch victory. Noni Madueke struck the side netting late on when well-positioned, while Declan Rice orchestrated attacks from deep despite struggling with the calf complaint that troubled him against Brentford midweek.
However, Villa refused to surrender tamely.
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Emery's tactical substitution proved inspired as Buendia replaced Matty Cash in the 85th minute, pushing the hosts into a more aggressive attacking shape with Lamare Bogarde dropping to right-back.
The Argentinian playmaker delivered the decisive intervention deep into stoppage time, reacting quickest to a loose ball inside Arsenal's penalty area and firing home with his right foot to secure all three points.
The defeat represents Arsenal's second loss of the campaign and ends their 18-match unbeaten run across all competitions. More significantly, it allows Man City the opportunity to reduce the gap at the summit to just three points should they defeat Sunderland later today.
Aston Villa 2-1 Arsenal - best players Match Rating
Emiliano Martínez 7.8
Declan Rice 7.7
Matty Cash 7.5
Boubacar Kamara 7.5
Martin Odegaard 7.2
via WhoScored
For Villa, the victory extends their remarkable home form to just one defeat in their last 25 league matches at Villa Park, maintaining their challenge for Champions League qualification while sitting third in the table.
It also begs the question, are Emery's men now genuine title contenders?
Stuart Pearce says Youri Tielemans stole the show against Arsenal
With that debate now set to rumble on, former England defender Stuart Pearce has picked out one Villa star to thank for an absolutely incredible afternoon for Emery in the Midlands.
Commenting on the game for talkSPORT, Pearce named his Player of the Match — £150,000-per-week midfielder Youri Tielemans.
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The Belgian international apparently stole the show against Arsenal, with Pearce calling his display in the engine room 'outstanding'.
"Outstanding," exclaimed Pearce.
"Some of his passing skills, receiving skills, you name it, he was outstanding."
Tielemans, who is out of contract in 2027, has just made a firm case to the Villa hierarchy when it comes to his long-term future.
The 28-year-old returned to full fitness fairly recently after missing six league games with a calf problem and was left out of the starting eleven for Villa's thrilling 4-3 win at Brighton.
Emery's decision to start Tielemans today was a masterful decision, and that performance will give the player huge confidence ahead of Villa's trips to FC Basel and West Ham.