Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa

On a chilly evening at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal suffered a disappointing defeat at the hands of Aston Villa. The Gunners, known for their attacking prowess, were left frustrated as they struggled to break down a resilient Villa defense.

The visitors took the lead early in the first half through a well-taken goal from Ollie Watkins. Despite Arsenal's best efforts to equalize, they were unable to find a way past Villa's organized backline.

Arsenal were fortunate to remain on level terms for so long against the impressive visitors, who secured a deserved win to move three points ahead of Tottenham in fourth having played a game more.

The only surprise was that it took Villa until six minutes from the end of normal time to open the scoring - Ollie Watkins and Youri Tielemans hit the woodwork in each half before Leon Bailey finally broke the deadlock with a low finish at the far post.

Emiliano Martinez was tested early on when Leandro Trossard slid in Kai Havertz but the German shot straight at our former keeper, and on 17 minutes Gabriel Jesus had a golden chance to put us in front when he was picked out by Bukayo Saka at the far post but could only find the side-netting.

That was rippled again soon after when a pinpoint Martin Odegaard pass found Saka who miscued his trademark blast into the near post, as we couldn’t quite find a way to make our good start count.

Villa were excellent here, limiting the home side to just four shots in the second half as their bravery in possession, high defensive line and willingness to commit players forward rocked the home side back. They played with a poise and conviction that Arsenal need to display in a title race of such fine margins.

The Gunners wasted good early opportunities. Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka both hit the side netting as Martin Odegaard glided in between the lines with eye-catching ease. Yet the stability provided by the Gabriel/William Saliba center-back partnership in recent weeks was lacking as the former gifted Ollie Watkins a chance to remind Arsenal of the threat Villa posed, striking the inside of the post with a 39th-minute shot which spread doubt throughout Arteta's side.

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Sarah H

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