Arsenal

Arsenal's Premier League challenge is stuttering, but they can return to the top of the table with a win at Villa Park.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes more neutrals want to see the Gunners win the Premier League than their title rivals Manchester City.

"That is what we are looking to do. At the end of the day, come the end of May you're going to have to have a certain amount of points. "You have to do things consistently, at an extremely high level.

Arsenal are still firmly in the Premier League title race, according to Gunners great Martin Keown, but they need to strike back quickly.

“Man City will be watching, lots of pats on the back for them. “But it is a chance, isn’t it. “They go back to the top of the table, and there’s still a game in hand for Arsenal. It was an exhilarating match to be a part of, but you need to strike back today and it’s the first time to do it. [Gunners fell to a 3-1 loss against City](https://www.eurosport.com/football/premier-league/2022-2023/arsenal-v-manchester-city-follow-live_sto9391556/story.shtml)at the Emirates on Wednesday to surrender top spot in the table on goal difference. Arsenal are still firmly in the Premier League title race, according to Gunners great Martin Keown, but they need to strike back quickly after a damaging midweek defeat to Manchester City.

Mikel Arteta has claimed that most neutral fans would rather see his Arsenal side lift the Premier League title in May than “favourites” Manchester City.

“That is what we are looking to do. “What we can control is what we do. At the end of the day, come the end of May you're going to have to have a certain amount of points. “You have to do things consistently, at an extremely high level. “It's about what we do. “That I agree with,” he answered when asked if rival fans want to see Arsenal win the Premier League.

ARSENAL are facing Aston Villa RIGHT NOW - and Oleksandr Zinchenko has scored a crucial equaliser!Thomas Partey misses out again for the Gunners, whil.

Aston Villa 2-2 Arsenal Aston Villa 2-1 Arsenal Aston Villa 2-3 Arsenal Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal - Result: Aston Villa 2 Arsenal 4

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton has predicted Arsenal to beat Aston Villa, but says his "head is telling me this will be a draw".

“It’s really important for their manager and the fans, but also the players too. “I can see them causing Arsenal problems too and my head is telling me this will be a draw, but I am going to follow my heart – and my heart wants there to be a title race this season.” I say ‘hopes’ because Sutton admitted that his head is telling him the match will finish a draw, but his “heart wants there to be a title race this season”. While Emery will have a fire in his belly for this fixture, Villa are going through a difficult period themselves after enjoying a honeymoon period under the Spaniard. Without a win in four matches across all competitions – including defeats home and away to City – the Gunners will be very eager to bounce back at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon. Arsenal are going through their worst run of form this season and have seen an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League relinquished in the blink of an eye.

Graeme Souness has rather predictably claimed that Arsenal will not win the Premier League after Wednesday's defeat 'played havoc'.

People writing you off was like a speck of dandruff. ‘But those Liverpool teams I played in were run on a very different philosophy – of making us feel that we could always give more. ‘I really hope that I’m wrong because during my time in football, Arsenal have been the benchmark of how a football club ought to be run. We’re living in a time where people are perhaps more precious and we’re concerned about raising a voice to them and telling them off. I don’t believe this is helping the cause. That’s why the significance of gaining a psychological advantage was so much more important to Arsenal than City.

Arsenal need to find form again and bring in some fresh faces certainly wey fit help di team. Arteta need to trust di players wey im get.

Aston Villa 2-1 Arsenal Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal Lucas Digne enta for Alex Moreno. Jhon Duran enta for Ollie Watkins. Aston Villa vs Arsenal line up Aston Villa 2-2 Arsenal Aston Villa1-1 Arsenal Arteta drop Gabriel Martinelli as Arsenal make two changes to dia starting line-up to face Aston Villa today. Aston Villa 2-3 Arsenal 77mins: Bukayo Saka get on di end of pass and take a shot from di edge of di box. Arsenal bounce back to top Premier League afta 4-2 win over Aston Villa Dem need to make changes and wit di game against Aston Villa just three days afta disappointing defeat to Manchester City dem get reasons to make doz changes.

Arsenal dropped off the Premier League summit with Wednesdays 3-1 loss to Man City at Emirates Stadium; defeat extended winless run to three games and left ...

Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ivan Toney physically dominated them for Everton and Brentford, and the same was true of Erling Haaland on Wednesday night. Arsenal's total of 16 line-up changes is the lowest in the division. At the other, a collective wavering of concentration levels which is resulting in uncharacteristic defensive errors such as the ones that proved so costly against City. He is also capable of playing anywhere across the front line. His missed chances against City betrayed a dip in confidence and, more significantly, Arsenal's collective threat has gone the same way. Arsenal have dropped more points in three Premier League games than they did in the previous 19. Arteta spoke of the "marathon" that still lies ahead in his press conference on Wednesday night. Privately, though, he will accept the potentially huge significance of how Arsenal respond at Villa Park. Together, though, the results comprise a significant blip. In addition to their decreased productivity in attack, there has been a dramatic increase in the number and quality of chances they are giving up to their opponents at the other end of the pitch. "The most important thing is how we are tomorrow," said Mikel Arteta. Anything less would extend Arsenal's winless run to four Premier League games, causing alarm bells to ring louder.

Arsenal twice battled back from behind as an injury-time own goal from Emiliano Martinez helped them to a hard-fought 4-2 victory at Aston Villa and ...

As in their 3-1 loss to City, Arsenal’s initial response to falling behind was a good one and – again mirroring Wednesday night – they drew level through Saka. Those saves from Ramsdale would prove vital for Arsenal, who took the lead for the first time with half of the six added minutes gone. Arsenal twice battled back from behind as an injury-time own goal from Emiliano Martinez helped them to a hard-fought victory at Aston Villa and breathed new life into their Premier League title bid.

ARSENAL have beaten Aston Villa 4-2 to get their title tilt back on track.The Gunners had to fight back twice in the game before Emi Martinez's own go.

Aston Villa 2-2 Arsenal Aston Villa 2-3 Arsenal Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal - Result: Aston Villa 2 Arsenal 4

Arsenal won for the first time in five games on Saturday thanks to a stoppage-time own goal by Aston Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez.

Arsenal scored twice in stoppage time after coming from behind twice to beat Aston Villa 4-2 to keep their Premier League title hopes alive.

90'+7 - GOAL FOR ARSENAL! 90'+3 - GOAL FOR ARSENAL! He looked like he was going to go off after getting strapping on his ankle. The Gunners, who had gone four games without a win in all competitions, looked on course for another defeat when going behind early on and again before half-time. Their possession play was eventually rewarded when Oleksandr Zinchenko equalised with a brilliant low strike after a short corner on the hour mark for his first goal of the club. Jorginho's strike crashed into bar, bounced down and hit Villa 'keeper Emi Martinez on the head before going in.

Will Arsenal get their title challenge back on track at Villa Park? Find out with Scott Murray.

[Premier League](https://www.theguardian.com/football/premierleague) by the resurgent champions Manchester City. [Arsenal](https://www.theguardian.com/football/arsenal) players before being clattered to the floor. [Arsenal](https://www.theguardian.com/football/arsenal) have come back once. [Arsenal](https://www.theguardian.com/football/arsenal) throw in from the right. [Premier League](https://www.theguardian.com/football/premierleague) matches, against Leicester and Manchester City, so make five changes to their starting XI. That would normally give today’s title-chasing visitors great hope, but Arsenal have picked up just one point from the last nine available, and earlier this week were knocked off the top of the [Arsenal](https://www.theguardian.com/football/arsenal) and win the ball back. A small crumb of comfort that his very last act on a football field was beautiful. Coutinho, Buendia and Luiz attempts to counter down the Villa left. Mings sticks out a leg to hook off the line and out for a corner, via the crossbar. 13 min: Xhaka works his way down the left to earn the first corner of the afternoon. Then Saka and Luiz are booked for their part in the melee.

Ollie Watkins and Philippe Coutinho had the home side ahead on two occasions.

With Villa pushing on for an equaliser of their own, Martinez went up for a last-gasp corner but it was cleared and substitutes Fabio Vieira and Martinelli combined to put the result beyond doubt. Jorginho, a January signing from Chelsea, came within inches of his first Arsenal goal as his long-range strike rattled the crossbar before bouncing off the head of the unfortunate Martinez and into the net. Villa still had a chance to take all three points for themselves and substitute Leon Bailey was causing problems with his pace, controlling a long ball and bursting through on goal only to see Aaron Ramsdale turn his strike against the crossbar. Villa had been caught trying to play out from the back on a number of occasions and were almost made to pay as Nketiah robbed Ezri Konsa of the ball inside his own box, squaring for Odegaard who could only drag a shot wide of the target when he should have scored. Eddie Nketiah hit the top of the crossbar with a header as the Gunners began to create more chances and the Villa defence started to creak. The former Arsenal goalkeeper and World Cup winner could do nothing as Jorginho’s fine strike cannoned off the crossbar and against the back of his head to settle a thrilling contest 4-2 in favour of the Gunners.

Arsenal were fortunate to see Jorginho's shot rebound off the 'keeper and into the net for their crucial third goal, but they had earned their luck.

[Eddie Nketiah](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/259486/Edward-Nketiah): Wasteful in front of goal again and was fortunate it did not cost Arsenal. Also, the reaction from all of us in the second half was perfect, that's the right way to go for the future games." We have to take some lessons today because especially in the first half, we didn't do all the simple things right and then we give them the chance to score those two goals in a really simple way. But it was Arsenal who were the stars of the show as they ended up claiming a stunning late victory. [Oleksandr Zinchenko](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/217482/Oleksandr-Zinchenko) fired Arsenal level on 61 minutes and there were chances for both sides as [Martin Odegaard](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/203669/martin-odegaard) missed a glorious chance 13 minutes from time, while at the other end substitute [Leon Bailey](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/224809/Leon-Bailey) crashed a late shot against the bar. This was a day to forget for the 30-year-old. This was another occasion to add to a growing list where Saka was on the receiving end of some rough treatment. Five minutes later, with Martinez caught upfield for a Villa corner, the visitors broke again and substitute [Gabriel Martinelli](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/269844/Gabriel-Martinelli) was left to roll the ball into an unguarded net. Kicking off just 63 hours after losing 3-1 to City, this was always going to be a test of Arsenal's resolve and it became immeasurably harder after Watkins scored early on -- the first goal Arsenal have conceded in the opening 15 minutes of a league match this season. And despite going down for treatment early in the second half, Saka admirably battled on to keep taking the fight to Villa, playing the entire game when it looked probable at one stage he would be forced off. This victory arrests that poor run and fires a statement to City that they still have genuine competition in the title race. Arsenal's durability in the title race was called into question after a run of one point from a possible nine enabled Manchester City to knock them off the top of the table in midweek for the first time since Nov.

Arsenal moved back to the top of the Premier League in dramatic fashion as an own goal from Aston Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez in stoppage-time handed the ...

Martinez went up for a Villa corner but when Arsenal cleared Martinelli was able to run half the length of the pitch before slotting into the empty net as Arteta and his staff celebrated wildly on the touchline. Zinchenko put Arsenal back on level terms in the 61st minute, drilling a blistering strike past Martinez from the edge of the area for his first Gunners goal since signing from Manchester City. In stoppage-time, Jorginho's first-time effort from the edge of the area hit the bar, bounced down and struck Martinez on the head before rebounding into the net. Tom Hanks, a self-confessed Villa fan, was watching from the stands and Arsenal scripted a Hollywood ending in front of the superstar actor "Sometimes you're going to have to win games in the 94th minute, you're going to have to score from set plays, you're going to have to score when you are down to 10 men. With just minutes left at Villa Park, Arteta's side were in danger of stumbling again in their bid to win the title for the first time since 2004.

The Premier League title race took another twist on Saturday as Arsenal climbed back to the top of the standings with a 4-2 win at Aston Villa while ...

Arsenal regained pole position in the Premier League title race on Saturday as the Gunners fought back for a thrilling 4-2 victory at Aston Villa, ...

"It's one of the best games we played but we dropped two points. "Both goals were outstanding. When you are not in your best moment you have to fight and that's what we did. There are many games still to play, we know it." Jurgen Klopp's eighth placed side -- who were the last team to beat Newcastle in the league in August -- are six points behind the Magpies with a game in hand. With just minutes left at Villa Park, Mikel Arteta's side were in danger of slipping up again in their bid to win the title for the first time since 2004.

A proud Mikel discusses the nature of our 4-2 Premier League win at Aston Villa on Saturday.

In the second half, it was a completely different story. With the second one, Bukayo was half injured, it was a corner and we were not set and leading the game like we should. A smaller margin [of chances] should be enough to win in this league and we need to improve that. At half-time we said we had to raise the individual level, we had to look each other in the face and we had to do much more if we wanted to come out and win this game. The context of the game was difficult, with the performance that we had against City and getting nothing out of it. We don’t need to produce as much as we do in every single game to win matches.

Jorginho was Arsenal's unlikely hero as he helped fire his new team-mates back to the top of the Premier League table.

Defender Tyrone Mings failed to clear beyond the penalty area and Saka flashed a left foot shot into the roof of the Villa net. He was up trying to score from a corner in the eighth minute of added time when Martinelli ran clear and rolled the ball into an empty net. Rarely has a ball been struck so sweetly.

Sky Sports News understands there was a physical altercation between Arsenal first-team assistant coach Miguel Molina and Aston Villa head performance ...

"I don't know, I am going to ask." "No, I don't know," he replied. Sky Sports News understands there was a physical altercation between Arsenal first-team assistant coach Miguel Molina and Aston Villa head performance analyst Victor Manas, who is a former Arsenal employee; Arsenal won the game 4-2

Mikel Arteta believes his Arsenal team have "more belief" than ever after they breathed new life into their Premier League title challenge with a last-gasp ...

Smaller margins should be enough to win games in this league consecutively and we have to improve that." "Win in any context and we’ve always talked about that. "Against Brentford we did that but we couldn’t win it because of a decision – fine.