Emi Buendia scored with the last kick of the game as Aston Villa stunned Arsenal to move three points behind the Premier League leaders.
Leandro Trossard’s sixth goal of the season looked to have earned a point for Arsenal after he cancelled out Matty Cash’s opener.

But Buendia struck in the 95th minute as Unai Emery’s side moved into second in the table.
Arsenal, who blew Bayern Munich and Tottenham away last month, suffered their first defeat in the league since losing 1-0 at Liverpool in August.

Villa Park erupted after substitute Buendia scored to give Villa their seventh straight game in all competitions.

Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze had a goal disallowed for offside before the hosts took a first-half lead when Arsenal – especially Eze – switched off to allow Cash to drill in at the far post.

Arsenal emerged re-energised after the break when Mikel Arteta introduced Viktor Gyokeres and Trossard, who levelled with his 50th Premier League goal, having already gone close.

Emi Martinez brilliantly tipped Martin Odegaard’s shot over as Arsenal looked for a winner, but Buendia stole the points in dramatic style, curling in after Arsenal failed to clear.

Aston Villa analysis: Title talk fair
The talk of Villa being in the title race will only intensify now.

It was a dramatic finish – one of the most significant at Villa Park for a while – but it was Villa who prevailed to underline they could have the staying power.

Putting them in title contention perhaps still seems fanciful as the squad is not as deep as Arsenal or Manchester City’s and Villa remain restricted by profit and sustainability rules.

But the facts are inescapable. Villa are second, before City’s game with Sunderland later on Saturday, and have won nine of their past 10 league games.

The neutral would say a point would have been a fair reflection of an entertaining game in which both teams refused to settle for a draw.
That is where Emery’s side are and what he demands. Emery would not have been happy with a point after Villa went ahead.

Buendia’s strike shows how Emery’s men can power on and drive through one of their biggest challenges.

Buendia was expected to leave in the summer after spending the second half of last season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen, and his resurgence has surprised even those at the club.

But he embodies Villa right now, an underdog who is taking his game to new heights and ready to cause an upset.

Arsenal analysis: Gunners disappoint

Arsenal’s match against Villa was a game that felt like it went under the radar because of the run of matches the Gunners had before this one.
And the loss to Emery’s side will only highlight the problems that, despite Arsenal’s excellent start to the season, have been mounting.

They have battled injuries to key players throughout the season and this game was no different with the news that Cristhian Mosquera had been ruled out for about six weeks before the match.

That meant Jurrien Timber had to play at centre-back, with Ben White coming in at right-back, which is how the Arsenal defence ended up during the win over Brentford in midweek.

White starting at right-back and captain Odegaard returning in midfield meant that White, Odegaard and Bukayo Saka were reunited on the right side of Arsenal’s team.

The relationship between the three has been key to Arsenal’s attack in recent seasons and the majority of the Arsenal play during the match went down that side.

But Odegaard coming into the team in the middle meant that Eze was shifted to the left-wing, but in that position there are more defensive responsibilities to carry out, and the England international switched off for Cash’s goal.

Mikel Merino was removed at half-time alongside Eze, and Trossard came on to score for his sixth goal of the season. He continues to be one of Arsenal’s standout players of the season.

The match was more open than Arteta would have liked and Arsenal missed the calmness of William Saliba and Gabriel and their presence in both boxes.

Saturday’s match was only the fourth time since the start of the 2022-23 season that Arsenal started a league game without Saliba or Gabriel.

Buendia’s winner would likely have been dealt with better if the two centre-backs had been on the pitch, and, with six more games this month, Arteta will be hoping this is just a blip and not the start of a considerable drop in form.

What’s next for these teams?

Emery takes Villa to Basel in the Europa League on Thursday before a trip to struggling West Ham in the Premier League on 14 December.
Arsenal travel to Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday and host winless Wolves in the Premier League on 13 December.

BBC