Aston Villa kept their dreams of European football alive with a 1-0 victory at Villa Park as Ollie Watkins’ early strike piled misery on the Gunners.
It was the first time that the hosts had completed a top-flight double over Arsenal since the inception of the Premier League in 1992-93.
Coming into the game both sides were looking to get back on track after disappointing results in midweek – Villa lost 3-1 at home to West Ham while Arsenal were defeated 2-1 away at Wolves.
With the prospect of finishing in the top six at stake, both teams were looking to get off to a good start, and it was the hosts that took the initiative.
In the second minute, Arsenal became the architect of their own downfall, as Cedric Soares’ short pass back to Gabriel allowed Bertrand Traore to pounce and cut his cross into the path of Ollie Watkins.
The 25-year-old’s first-time finish helped to continue his rich vein of form in front of goal – notching his twelve of the season, albeit with the aid of a huge deflection off Rob Holding.
Arsenal responded well by taking control of possession for long spells, probing Villa’s organised backline, however they struggled to create any clear-cut openings.
Midway through the half, the Gunners first shot on target came from a long-range freekick by Granit Xhaka – his strike was reminiscent of his goal against Chelsea on Boxing Day.
Although on this occasion, former Arsenal shot-stopper Emiliano Martinez was equal to the effort, as he tipped it over the bar and out for a corner.
Shortly after, Alexandre Lacazette’s flicked header released Bukayo Saka down the right, who would have been through on goal if it was not for Jeffery Konsa’s clumsy tackle.
The referee and VAR deemed the incident to only warrant a yellow card, as they felt Matt Cash was covering his team-mate, however they could have easily been down to 10 men.
With chances at a premium towards the end of the half, neither side was able to create anything of note, therefore the score remained the same at the break.
Dean Smith’s side came out of the blocks in the second 45 minutes, with the intent of killing the game off, and nearly doing so when Watkins shot was pushed away by Arsenal debutant Matt Ryan.
As it started to open up, the visitors were finding joy down the left-hand side with Nicolas Pepe, whose drilled cross almost beat Martinez at his near-post due to a deflection off Konsa.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and new signing Martin Odegaard were brought on with 30 minutes to go by Mikel Arteta, with the hope of getting them something to bring back to north London.
There had been a noticeable difference to Villa’s approach to the second-half, as they looked to preserve what they had, with Arsenal committing more men forward.
This gifted Jack Grealish the space to operate in on the break, and he nearly put the game beyond all doubt, when his left-footed shot was well stopped by Ryan.
With just over five minutes remaining, perhaps the best opportunity of the half fell to Odegaard after Saka cut-back found the Norwegian international in the box, although his shot was blazed over the bar to keep the score at 1-0.
Having claimed all three points, Villa in eighth place are four points above Arsenal with a game in hand, which all but ends Arteta’s side’s possibilities of finishing in the top-six.
