Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa: Player ratings as Gunners' Premier League title hopes fade
Arsenal missed the chance to go top of the Premier League table on Sunday, losing 2-0 to Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners had been gifted the opportunity to go top byLiverpool's shock 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace earlier on Sunday, but goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins ensured that they remained in second place heading into the final six weeks of the 2023/24 campaign.
Manchester City are now in first place and heavy favourites to win a record-breaking fourth consecutive title.
Knowing that a win would see his side go top of the Premier League table, Mikel Arteta opted to field an extremely attacking line up, with Kai Havertz being dropped into midfield and Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus being drafted into the front three.
All three would prove to be a nuisance for the Villa defence during the early exchanges.
Both Havertz and Jesus would have great chances to make it 1-0 inside the opening 20 minutes. First Havertz, after being played through on goal by Trossard, saw an effort on goal well saved by Emi Martinez, before Jesus would wide of the post from six yards out following a sweeping Gunners move.
Arsenal were almost made to rue those missed chances in the 38th minute. A wayward pass from Gabriel at the back allowed the in-form Ollie Watkins to steam through on goal. After driving into the right of the penalty area, Watkins saw his drilled effort roll past David Raya and then off the foot of the post.
Straight from the resulting goal kick, Arsenal went up the other end to create another glorious chance of their own. This time the chance would fall to Trossard after Jesus squared the ball cleverly into his path on the edge of the six yard box. Remarkably, the Belgian's side-footed effort
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