By Opta Analyst | Created at 2025-01-18 19:42:24 | Updated at 2025-01-19 00:10:13
4 hours ago
Arsenal squandered a two-goal lead against Aston Villa, handing Liverpool even more momentum in the title race. We bring you the best facts and Opta data with our Arsenal vs Aston Villa stats page.
For 60 minutes, everything seemed to be going according to plan for Arsenal. They appeared to have responded well after watching Liverpool snatch a dramatic late win earlier in the day, taking a 2-0 lead over Aston Villa courtesy of goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz.
But Aston Villa had other ideas. Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins both struck to pull the visitors level, leaving the home side frustrated and unable to find a late winner. This marked the first time Arsenal had let a two-goal lead slip in the Premier League since April 2023 (against West Ham).
Those dropped points left Arsenal trailing Liverpool by six points at the top of the table – the Reds have a chance to extend that to nine with their game in hand.
The hosts opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark through Martinelli, who converted a cross from Leandro Trossard. The Brazilian has now scored in three of his last four Premier League starts, matching his league goal tally from last season (6) in 15 fewer appearances (20 this season compared to 35 last).
The Gunners doubled their lead early in the second half, once again through brilliant work down the left flank. Trossard delivered another dangerous cross for Havertz to sweep home.
The visitors then struck back through a cross of their own, with Lucas Digne picking out Tielemans. The Belgian beat Mikel Merino to the ball and powered a header past David Raya to halve the deficit. Moments later, Tielemans almost equalised, rattling the base of the post with a fierce shot from the edge of the box.
The equaliser eventually came though, this time from the right. Matty Cash hoisted in a cross and Watkins finished with a sublime side-footed volley to bring up his 10th goal of the season. Watkins and Mohamed Salah are now the only players to have hit double figures for goals in each of the last five Premier League seasons.
Arsenal thought they had found a late winner when Merino’s deflected shot wrong-footed Martínez, but the ball had ricocheted in via Havertz’s arm, and the goal was correctly ruled out.
There was still time for late drama. Merino struck the post, and Trossard dragged a golden opportunity wide when through on goal. But Arsenal could not find a winner, and this felt like a hugely damaging moment in the title race.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Arsenal vs Aston Villa stats from their Premier League meeting at the Emirates Stadium.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Subscribe to our football newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
