Aston Villa vs Arsenal LIVE: Premier League result and reaction after late goals from Martinez and Martinelli
Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal: Late goals complete Arsenal comeback as they move to the top of the Premier League
Arsenal twice battled back from behind as stoppage time goals from Emiliano Martinez and Gabriel Martinelli helped them to a hard-fought victory at Aston Villa to reignite into their Premier League title bid.
Martinez, a former Arsenal goalkeeper, could do nothing as Jorginho’s strike cannoned off the crossbar and struck the back of his head to settle a thrilling contest 4-2 in favour of the Gunners.
Ollie Watkins and Philippe Coutinho sent home side ahead on two occasions, only for Bukayo Saka and Oleksandr Zinchenko to equalise for Arsenal and keep them in the contest.
The Gunners’ winless run looked set to continue before Martinez inadvertently helped out his old side and substitute Martinelli tapped into an empty net after the goalkeeper went up for a late corner.
Relive the action as Arsenal defeat Aston Villa in the Premier League:
Aston Villa vs Arsenal prediction
There is a personal rivalry between Unai Emery and Arsenal after he was let go after just one season in charge. The Aston Villa boss will want to get a touch of revenge this afternoon and will have focused his players on this big game.
Although Villa are in a dip of form they’re confident in front of goal with Ollie Watkins leading the line and will cause trouble for Arsenal. The Gunners have some brilliant individual quality though and should be a handful for the home side.
Aston Villa 1-1 Arsenal.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal predicted line-ups
Aston Villa: Martinez; Young, Konsa, Mings, Moreno; Kamara, Luiz, Ramsey; Buendia, Watkins, Bailey
Arsenal: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Jorginho; Saka, Odegaard, Trossard; Nketiah
What is the early team news?
For hosts Aston Villa Diego Carlos remains out due to injury but Tyrone Mings should be back for selection.
Thomas Partey will undergo an assessment for Saturday’s match due to a muscle problem, while Emile Smith Rowe could be in the squad but Gabriel Jesus is yet to recover.
How to watch Aston Villa vs Arsenal
The match will kick-off at 12.30pm GMT on Saturday, 18 February at Villa Park.
The game will be available for fans to watch on BT Sport 1. BT Sport customers can also stream the match live on the BT Sport website.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of this morning’s Premier League clash between Aston Villa and Arsenal.
The Gunners come up against their old boss, Unai Emery, after they surrendered top spot in the table to Manchester City following a 3-1 defeat to the current champions. Mikel Arteta’s side can regain first place should they avoid defeat at Villa Park but three points would be the preferable option.
However, Arsenal have only collected one point from their last three league games following defeats to City and Everton either side of a 1-1 draw with Brentford. Victory today would get them out of that rut and back into the title race.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, are enjoying life under Emery. They’ve win six of the 12 games he’s been in charge and are relatively safe in midtable. But, like Arsenal, they’ve hit a stumbling block in their last two matches falling to heavy defeats against Leicester and Man City.
Can the Villans rediscover their form this afternoon? Kick off for this one is at 12.30pm.
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