Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins proved a thorn in Arsenal’s flesh again as he completed his side’s comeback with the equaliser in a 2-2 draw in the Premier League on Saturday.
Arsenal looked on course to erase the memory of last season’s home defeat by Villa when Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz scored from close range either side of half-time.
Victory would have put Arsenal back to four points behind leaders Liverpool but Villa burst into life when Youri Tielemans headed them a lifeline on the hour and Watkins met a Matty Cash cross with a volley to level eight minutes later.
It set up a frantic finale in which Arsenal thought they had won it when Mikel Merino’s effort deflected off Havertz into the net but it was ruled out for handball.
Arsenal are on 44 points to Liverpool’s 50, having also played one more game. Villa moved up a place to seventh.
Reuters reports that Liverpool’s stoppage-time victory at Brentford and the absence of key defender William Saliba put something of a dampener on the pre-match mood at The Emirates.
Unai Emery’s Villa arrived, knowing a repeat of late year’s win would put them fourth, but Arsenal looked determined to keep hanging on to Liverpool’s coat tails.
Leandro Trossard was the catalyst for Arsenal and he created both goals in almost identical fashion.
In the 35th minute, he burst down the left and crossed for Martinelli to prod a volley that Villa keeper Emiliano Martínez could not quite prevent from crossing the line.
Trossard lashed an effort just over the bar before finding space on the left in the 55th minute to cross low into the area where Havertz timed his run well to guide an effort past Martinez.
Villa has not got started in the second half but halved the deficit when substitute Lucas Digne crossed for Tielemans to place a diving header past David Raya.
Arsenal were suddenly rattled and Tielemans struck the post with a shot.
Villa sensed the tension in the stadium and when Cash floated a sublime cross into the area it was met by the lurking Watkins who guided his volley high into the net before wheeling away to celebrate in front of the visitors’ ecstatic supporters.
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