Ten-Man Arsenal Battle To Dramatic Comeback Win Over Stubborn Villa
22nd September 2019
The Gunners' winless run in the Premier League seemed set to stretch to four games when John McGinn gave Villa the lead and Ainsley Maitland-Niles's sending-off four minutes before half-time
- Ten-man Arsenal twice came from a goal down to claim a much-needed 3-2 win over Aston Villa in dramatic fashion thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's free-kick six minutes from time
- Nicolas Pepe's first Arsenal goal from the penalty spot briefly brought the Gunners level, but Wesley soon restored Villa's lead.
- Arsenal heart and commitment was questioned after blowing a two-goal lead to draw at Watford last weekend
LONDON, United
Kingdom- Ten-man Arsenal twice came from a goal down to claim a much-needed
3-2 win over Aston Villa in dramatic fashion thanks to Pierre-Emerick
Aubameyang's free-kick six minutes from time at the Emirates on Sunday.
The Gunners' winless run in the Premier League seemed set to
stretch to four games when John McGinn gave Villa the lead and Ainsley
Maitland-Niles's sending-off four minutes before half-time gave Unai Emery's
men a mountain to climb.
Nicolas Pepe's first Arsenal goal from the penalty spot
briefly brought the Gunners level, but Wesley soon restored Villa's lead.
Arsenal heart and commitment was questioned after blowing a
two-goal lead to draw at Watford last weekend.
But they showed no little spirit as Calum Chambers looped
home an equaliser before Aubameyang took centre stage to rifle home a free-kick
from the edge of the area.
A vital three points, which lifts Arsenal up to fourth, is a
huge boost for Emery, who has faced questions in recent weeks over his ability
to lead the Gunners back to the Champions League next season.
The Spaniard still has to find the right balance in midfield
to protect an ailing defence, but with Aubameyang and Pepe in attack, Arsenal
always look capable of scoring.
Maitland-Niles's nightmare afternoon began after barely a
minute when he blazed over Arsenal's best chance of the first half.
The right-back then dragged down Anwar El Ghazi for an early
booking that was to prove costly.
McGinn was a constant threat to the Arsenal defence as the
Scottish international twice tested Bernd Leno from outside the box.
However, the hosts did not heed those warning shots as
McGinn was allowed to ghost in at the far post to turn home El Ghazi's cross on
20 minutes.
Maitland-Niles then naively dived into a sliding challenge
with Neil Taylor and saw a second yellow.
Emery sacrificed 18-year-old Buyako Saka on his first
Premier League start for Chambers to fill the void at right-back.
- Arsenal's lifeline -
And the hosts were handed a lifeline just before the hour
mark when Matteo Guendouzi was bundled over in the box by Bjorn Engels.
Aubameyang stood aside to let Pepe net his first goal since
joining Arsenal for a £72 million ($87 million) club-record move from Lille.
But Arsenal's joy did not last long as their leaky defence
was breached easily once more.
Jack Grealish galloped freely through the midfield before
squaring for Wesley to prod in at the near post.
Arsenal almost responded once more as Tom Heaton turned
Guendouzi's long-range drive onto the post.
Heaton also tipped over David Luiz's dipping free-kick,
while Aubameyang could not turn Sokratis Papastathopoulos's knockdown on
target.
However, Chambers was in the right place nine minutes from
time to score his first Arsenal goal since 2016.
In a topsy-turvy start to the season, Aubameyang has been
the man Arsenal can rely on and he stepped forward again to win the game with
his seventh goal of the season by drilling a free-kick he won beyond the
unsighted Heaton.