Arsenal regain the lead with a dramatic victory against Aston Villa
Goals: Aston Villa – Arsenal – Played on 02/18/2023
Arsenal returned with a dramatic victory (4-2) at the expense of its host Aston Villa, today, Saturday, at Villa Park, in the 24th round of the English Premier League.
Arsenal scored Bukayo Saka (16), Oleksandr Zinchenko (61), Emiliano Martinez (90), and Gabriel Martinelli (90 + 8), while Aston Villa scored Oli Watkins (5) and Philippe Coutinho (31).
With that result, Arsenal rose to the top of the standings, raising its tally to 54 points, while Aston Villa’s balance froze at 28 points in 11th place.
Aston Villa posed the first danger in the meeting, with a shot from outside the area through Luiz in the second minute, which went wide of the goal.
Aston Villa opened the scoring early in the sixth minute, with Watkins receiving a through ball, and went until he reached the penalty area, hitting a ground ball that hit the net.
Arsenal wasted an opportunity to adjust the score in the 12th minute, by receiving White Penny inside the area, to separate Martinez, and prefer to send a cross to Nketiah next to him, who hit a header that hit the crossbar, before the referee announced the presence of offside.
Arsenal succeeded in adjusting the score in the 16th minute, after Saka followed a ball away from Aston Villa’s defense inside the area, to hit a powerful ball that hit the net.
Zinchenko appeared in the 19th minute, with a powerful shot from outside the area, which Martinez caught.
And Aston Villa managed to score the second goal in the 31st minute, after Coutinho received a pass inside the area, hitting a distinctive ball that landed in the net, to end the first half with Aston Villa advancing (2-1).
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At the start of the second half, Saka hit a curved ball from the edge of the area in the 48th minute, which went wide of the goal.
Saka returned to try again in the 53rd minute, with a ground shot from inside the area, which passed next to the post.
Arsenal almost equalized in the 56th minute, after Nketiah rose to a cross from White, hitting a header that hit the crossbar.