Arsenal booked an extremis victory in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. Mikel Arteta’s team was made extremely difficult on a visit to Aston Villa, but eventually managed to win in the absolute final phase thanks to goals from Jorginho and Gabriel Martinelli: 2-4. Jorginho’s ‘goal’ seems to be credited to Emiliano Martínez, who got the ball against his back before crossing the goal line. Ollie Watkins, Bukayo Saka, Philippe Coutinho and Oleksandr Zinchenko were the other goalscorers in the entertaining game in Birmingham. Arsenal maintain a three-point lead over number two Manchester City, which will face Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon.
The Gunners, who lost 1-3 at home to City last Wednesday evening, started with two changes to the game against Villa. Ben White came on for Takehiro Tomiyasu, while Leandro Trossard made his starting debut for Arsenal at the expense of Martinelli. The Brazilian winger started on the bench at Villa Park, as did Emile Smith Rowe. The talented Englishman returned from a thigh injury.
What a start for Villa! ???? Ollie Watkins rewards his good form with a goal ??#ViaplaySportNL #ViaplayFootball pic.twitter.com/buVrobYPYL
— Viaplay Sport Netherlands (@viaplaysportnl) February 18, 2023
The home team shot out of the starting blocks and managed to score the opening goal after just five minutes. Matty Cash took the ball from Zinchenko, bridged several yards and sent Watkins deep. The English striker, who did not receive the ball very well, sought out his direct opponent William Saliba, went around the outside and then shot hard and low with his left behind Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale: 1-0. The Londoners were not upset by that early goal and immediately went looking for the equalizer.
It seemed to fall quickly, but a cross from Saka to Eddie Nketiah was cleverly shot over the goal by Tyrone Mings, who prevented Arsenal from coming alongside quickly. Less than four minutes later, however, it was the same Mings who headed White’s cross into Saka’s feet. The winger of the Gunners did not hesitate and shot the ball hard in one go into the roof of the goal behind Emiliano Martínez: 1-1. That equalizer ensured that Arsenal regained faith in Birmingham, but that did not necessarily immediately lead to great opportunities.
There’s the equalizer already! ?? Saka hits the ball wonderfully ? ???https://t.co/ast02KDX1A #ViaplaySportNL #ViaplayFootball pic.twitter.com/oOjSTDoezG
— Viaplay Sport Netherlands (@viaplaysportnl) February 18, 2023
In fact, it was Villa that took the lead again fifteen minutes before the break. Boubacar Kamara gave a through ball to Álex Moreno, after which the Spaniard passed towards the edge of the sixteen-meter area. Emiliano Buendía cleverly let the ball roll through his legs, which Coutinho made good use of and Villa took the lead again: 2-1. The home team left the game to Arsenal shortly after the break, allowing Arteta’s team to look for the equalizer. He almost fell after a header from Nketiah, who saw his bet end on the crossbar. Shortly after that chance, it was Zinchenko who shot his team next to Villa. Martin Ødegaard put the ball back on the left back and he hit the short corner: 2-2.
What an important moment for Arsenal, who still take the three points against Aston Villa ???? Jorginho’s shot goes over the crossbar and Martínez’s head into the goal! ??#ViaplaySportNL #ViaplayFootball pic.twitter.com/loC88RU06e
— Viaplay Sport Netherlands (@viaplaysportnl) February 18, 2023
Less than two minutes later, Nketiah seemed to give his team the lead. Again Ødegaard was the man of the final pass. Nketiah then saw Martínez sprint out of his goal and decided to put the ball over the goalie. However, that bet landed on the roof of the goal. More than fifteen minutes before the end, Ødegaard himself got the biggest chance of the match after fiddling in the Villa defense. Saka picked up the ball and gave wide to the captain, who then shot wide, which seemed more difficult than getting the ball into the net. In the end, Jorginho gave his team the victory. The midfielder, who came over from Chelsea this winter, decided to shoot from distance in minute 93. His effort hit the underside of the crossbar and went into the goal via Martínez’s head: 2-3. Martinelli then shot for an empty goal – Martínez had gone forward with a corner – scored the fourth goal.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | v | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 23 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 54 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 23 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 51 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 23 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 46 |
| 4 | Newcastle United | 22 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 22 | 41 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 23 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 39 |
| 6 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 21 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 35 |
| 7 | Fulham | 23 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 35 |
| 8 | Brentford | 22 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 34 |
| 9 | Liverpool | 21 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 32 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 31 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 23 | 8 | 4 | 11 | -10 | 28 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | -10 | 25 |
| 13 | Leicester City | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | -2 | 24 |
| 14 | Nottingham Forest | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | -20 | 24 |
| 15 | Wolverhampton W. | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | -14 | 23 |
| 16 | West Ham United | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | -8 | 20 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | -10 | 19 |
| 18 | Everton | 22 | 4 | 6 | 12 | -14 | 18 |
| 19 | AFC Bournemouth | 22 | 4 | 6 | 12 | -24 | 18 |
| 20 | Southampton | 22 | 4 | 3 | 15 | -22 | 15 |