Aston Villa beat Arsenal 2–1 with a goal in the 95th minute and set the Premier League title race on fire. Unai Emery’s team ended the London side’s 18 game unbeaten run and reached 30 points, sitting just three behind their rival. The match at Villa Park moved at a fast pace, stayed tight from start to finish and delivered the kind of ending that explains why the English league feels more unpredictable than it has in years.
The late win that shakes the top of the Premier League
Villa started shaping the result in the first half, when Matty Cash slipped free at the far post and finished cleanly after Pau Torres’s cross took a slight deflection. The goal matched the rhythm of the game, since the home side kept finding pockets of space and pushing Arsenal closer to their own box throughout the opening period.
When the teams came back from halftime, Arsenal reacted almost immediately. Trossard stepped on the field and took advantage of Saka’s low cross to level the score from close range. The 1–1 changed the temperature of the match and both teams traded chances. Odegaard forced Martínez into a tough save from long distance and Raya answered well when Watkins burst forward at speed. It felt like the match was waiting for one moment, any moment, to break open.
That moment arrived deep into stoppage time, when Arsenal’s box turned into a maze of blocks and rebounds. Buendía, who had come on only a short while earlier, pounced on the loose ball and fired a strong shot from inside the area with no chance for Raya. Villa Park erupted and the goal capped off a performance that rewarded the team that stayed aggressive when the match demanded it.
The weight of Aston Villa’s seventh straight win
The game also highlighted Aston Villa’s remarkable stretch. They now have 7 wins in a row and 13 victories in their last 15 matches across all competitions. Their form at home has become a real asset, since the club has lost only 1 of its last 26 Premier League matches at Villa Park. Against Arsenal, that pattern held steady.
Arsenal, on the other hand, stay near the top of the table but leave with the frustration of creating enough chances to control the match and still finishing the night empty handed. They face Wolverhampton next, while Villa visit West Ham, a stretch that should reveal whether the top of the table is about to tighten even more.