Premier League title slipping away from Arsenal as rejigged defence falls short in painful draw
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Arsenal were dealt a blow in their pursuit of Premier League leaders Liverpool after they blew a two-goal lead at home to Aston Villa. Mikel Arteta’s side had been two goals to the good early in the second-half after Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz had scored.
Villa, however, hit back shortly after the hour mark as first Youri Tielemans and then Ollie Watkins struck. Arsenal pushed for a winner after that and Mikel Merino had a late goal ruled out as VAR ruled his shot struck Havertz’s arm. Merino also hit the post in the dying moments and Arsenal were left gutted at the final whistle as they dropped crucial points in the title race.
Simon Collings was at Emirates Stadium to see Arsenal in action…. Title hopes take another blow. It was dropped points against Aston Villa that ultimately cost Arsenal the title last season and, while this year’s race is not over yet, this draw will have really hurt the Gunners.
The manner of it will have been especially painful given Arsenal were 2-0 up and dominant early in the second-half. In the space of eight minutes, though, Villa struck twice and all of Arsenal’s hard work was undone. Results earlier in the day made this draw even more of a blow, with Liverpool leaving it late to beat Brentford.
Arne Slot’s side had looked set to drop points in west London, but Darwin Nunez came to their rescue and meant it was over to Arsenal to respond. The gap to leaders Liverpool now stands at six points and Slot’s side have a game in hand as well. The title feels like it is slipping away from Arsenal.
