LONDON: Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes suffered a major setback as they blew a two-goal lead in a damaging 2-2 draw against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta’s side were on course to keep pace with leaders Liverpool after goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz put them in control at the Emirates Stadium.
But the Gunners collapsed midway through the second half as Youri Tielemans’ first league goal this season handed Villa a lifeline before Ollie Watkins bagged the equalizer.
Boyhood Arsenal fan Watkins was about to be replaced by Jhon Duran before his 10th league goal this season put a huge dent in the north Londoners’ hopes of catching Liverpool.
There was an agonizing finale for Arsenal as Mikel Merino’s late winner was disallowed for handball by Havertz.
Second-placed Arsenal are now six points behind Liverpool as their bid for a first title since 2004 continues to splutter.
Darwin’s Nunez’s stoppage-time double for Liverpool sealed a 2-0 win at Brentford just half an hour before Arsenal kicked off, with groans audible from the stands as the result reached fans at the Emirates.
And with Liverpool holding a game in hand on Arsenal, Arne Slot’s men are firmly in control of the title race.
Arsenal’s 2-1 win against north London rivals Tottenham on Wednesday had ended a damaging run of three games without a win in all competitions.
That frustrating streak included the FA Cup exit against 10-man Manchester United and a League Cup semifinal first leg loss to Newcastle.
There was a pre-match blow for Arsenal as French defender William Saliba was ruled out with a “minor issue” and Villa eventually exploited his absence.
Villa had ruined Arsenal’s title bid last term, beating them twice in the league including a crucial 2-0 victory in north London in April.
Despite partially avenging those losses with a win at Villa earlier this season, Arsenal found themselves frustrated by their former boss Unai Emery again.
Despite being penned deep inside their own half for most of the opening 10 minutes, Villa should have taken the lead when Ian Maatsen’s fierce strike from 12 yards forced a fine save from David Raya.
Arsenal’s pressure was rewarded in the 35th minute as Leandro Trossard whipped a cross into the six-yard box and Martinelli got in front of Maatsen to stab past Martinez, whose save couldn’t quite stop the ball crossing the line before he clawed it out.
Havertz headed over from Martin Odegaard’s free-kick, but the much-maligned German finally ended his recent struggles to double Arsenal’s lead in the 55th minute.
Trossard cleverly shifted the ball away from Villa defender Matty Cash and whipped a low cross toward Havertz, whose close-range finish eluded Martinez’s weak attempted save.
The 25-year-old’s first goal in four games took him to 13 in 29 matches in all competitions this season, but he would still finish as the villain.
Tielemans led Villa’s instant fightback, getting in front of Merino to meet Lucas Digne’s cross with a diving header from six yards in the 60th minute.
Arsenal were rocking and Tielemans nearly equalized 90 seconds later with a snap-shot that smacked back off the post.
Martinelli volleyed wide from Gabriel’s lofted pass, foreshadowing the pain to come for Arsenal in the 68th minute.
Cash’s cross arrowed into the Arsenal area and Havertz couldn’t head clear, giving Watkins the chance to guide a clinical finish into the roof of the net from close-range.
Merino briefly thought he had spared Arsenal’s blushes but his strike from the edge of the area was disallowed for the clear contact with Havertz’s arm.
In a thrilling finale, Merino hit the post before Martinez made a superb save to repel Trossard’s effort from the rebound as Arteta held his head in disbelief.

MADRID: Antoine Griezmann missed a late penalty as La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid stumbled to a shock 1-0 defeat at Leganes on Saturday, ending a club record run of 15 consecutive victories.
Matija Nastasic nodded Leganes ahead early in the second half, with Griezmann dragging a poor penalty wide in the final stages to consign Atletico to a second defeat of the league season.
Diego Simeone’s side’s superb form toward the end of 2024 took them above rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona at the halfway point, but their poor display against Leganes opened the door to Spain’s big two.
Real Madrid have the chance to move top of the table on Sunday when they host Las Palmas, while Barcelona can cut down the six-point gap on Atletico later Saturday at Getafe.
“We didn’t get into the game well enough, I thought we were low on energy, it wasn’t enough from us,” Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak told DAZN.
“We’ll keep our head up after (winning) 15 games, we lost this one and we have to keep going forward... unfortunately the streak is over.”
The goalkeeper said Atletico would keep battling to win the title for the first time since 2021.
“The league is long, there are a lot of games until the end and it’s clear that it doesn’t end in January,” added Oblak.
Madrid minnows Leganes, 15th, battled well in defense to keep Atletico at bay in the first half.
Rojiblancos striker Julian Alvarez hit the woodwork and had another effort blocked, while Griezmann struck the post and Marko Dmitrovic batted away his second effort from the rebound.
At the other end Juan Cruz threatened on a rare forray forward for the hosts but Oblak reacted well to keep out his cross-shot.
Early in the second half, Serbian defender Nastasic headed Leganes in front from a corner, and they protected their advantage without much stress until controversially conceding a penalty for a debatable handball by Sergio Gonzalez.
Griezmann took responsibility from the penalty spot, but rolled his 90th-minute effort wide of the goal.
Substitute Angel Correa had a final chance to level for Atletico but Dmitrovic bravely blocked his effort from close range to secure Leganes’ victory.
Leganes also beat Barcelona in December and Dmitrovic said their shock wins come down to elbow grease.
“There’s nothing special (about the team), there’s work behind every game, the whole week,” said Dmitrovic.
“Yes, we were capable of beating two of the three biggest sides in La Liga, now there’s no excuses — what we did against Barca and Atletico we have to repeat in other games.
“You can’t guarantee you’ll win games in this league, but the same effort, desire, hope and work, we have to repeat.”
Atletico must now bounce back in the Champions League, where they are aiming to reach the knock-out rounds, against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.
“They were 15 extraordinary games, I feel enormously proud at having set the (consecutive) winning record in Atletico’s history,” Simeone told DAZN.
“Their goal gave them the strength to keep working hard in defense, and it’s a strength to defend as well as Leganes did...
“We have to accept that defeat is part of the game and prepare ourselves for Tuesday.”