After being defeated by Manchester City and lose leadership English Championshipo Arsenal returned to the field this Saturday morning and managed to regain the top of the competition. In the final minutes, the team scored two goals and beat Aston Villa by 4-2.
The result puts the team back in first place, three points away from City. Pep Guardiola’s men can equal the score if they beat Nottingham Forest this Saturday, at 12:00 (Brasília time). It should be noted that the Gunners still have one game to play.
On the field, Arsenal were behind the scoreboard twice and had to run after the tie. Already in the additions, goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez ended up scoring after a beautiful shot by Jorginho, from outside the area, and Martinelli decreed the triumph. The Brazilian Philippe Coutinho also scored in favor of Villa.
The triumph still ends a bad sequence of four games without a victory for Mikel Arteta’s team. During the period, the London team was beaten twice by City (in the FA Cup and in the Premier League), lost to Everton and was tied with Brentford.
Arsenal, relieved, returns to the field next Saturday to continue the fight for the English title. The opponent is Leicester City, in a meeting scheduled for midday, at the King Power Stadium.
How was the game?
The match started in high frequency and already had its first goal in the fourth minute. Cash disarmed Zinchenko and made a good launch for Watkins, who stayed one-on-one with Saliba, adjusted to his left foot and released a shot, filling the goalkeeper Ramsdale’s nets.
Arsenal, however, did not take long to level the score. A little over ten minutes later, Saka took it over at the entrance to the area and hit hard, in the corner, to score the goal in favor of the team.
Already at 30, Coutinho appeared to take the tie off the scoreboard. After Villa’s good effort on the left, Moreno crossed low to the Brazilian, inside the area, who kicked in Ramsdale’s foot. The first half still ended with confusion after Coutinho took a hard foul on Saka.
Behind the marker, the Gunners had a good chance to score with Saka, just three minutes after halftime. The attacker took chances from afar, but ended up sending the ball over the goalposts.
At 10, Nketiah received a cross from White and, with his head, hit the crossbar. Then Arsenal managed to reach the draw with Zinchenko, in the 15th minute. After a short corner kick, Odegaard rolled to the Ukrainian, who corrected a first-time finish, in the corner of Emiliano Martínez.
The London team still missed an incredible chance to turn the game around. Saka disarmed the scorer inside the area and played for Odegaard, who arrived alone, facing the goal, but sent it out, in the 31st minute.
Aston Villa, then, responded to Bailey, in the 37th minute on the clock, in a rush on the right that ended with a bomb by the player. Ramsdale made great defense and still saw the ball explode in the crossbar.
In addition, at 47 minutes, Jorginho received a pass near the entrance to the area and finished from long range. The ball hit the crossbar and, in the sequence, ended up touching the back of Emiliano Martínez, who scored against.
There was still time for Martinelli to do his, in the 52nd minute. Martínez launched himself into the opponent’s area from a corner kick, to try to tie the match. Arsenal’s defense, however, cut and left the ball at the feet of Fábio Vieira, who launched it for the Brazilian to just complete it into the empty net.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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