Arsenal returned to the summit of the Premier League after an impressive 4-2 win over Aston Villa at Villa Park, while Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw away to Nottingham Forest in their match.
Just two days after meeting at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal and Manchester City returned to action against Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, respectively.
Arsenal showed the mentality and fighting spirit of champions to battle back from behind twice and secure a 4-2 win over Aston Villa away from home.
Aston Villa started the game perfectly, with Ollie Watkins continuing his fine form with a goal in the opening five minutes of the match. Arsenal secured an equaliser as Bukayo Saka thumped an excellent volley past Emiliano Martinez from inside the box. Before half-time, Aston Villa regained their lead through Phillipe Coutinho after a well-worked team move.
Arsenal dominated the second half from the first blast of the whistle and the crossbar denied Eddie Nketiah early on. There was action at the other end too, as Aaron Ramsdale had to react sharply to push a firm strike from Leon Bailey onto the crossbar. Following a period of great pressure, the home side finally cracked and Arsenal got the reward for their persistence. Oleksandr Zinchenko, culpable for Aston Villa’s opener, scored his first-ever Premier League goal with a firm strike from distance.
With full-time approaching, Arsenal went ahead for the first time in the game for the first time. A rasping drive from Jorginho from outside the box cannoned off the crossbar before a ricochet off the head of goalkeeper Martinez sent the ball into the net.
Having been awarded a late corner kick, Martinez sauntered into the Arsenal box to provide aerial presence, but the delivery went over his head. Fabio Vieira picked up the ball and sent Gabriel Martinelli through to score in front of an empty net, sparking wild celebrations from the Arsenal fans.
A short while later, Manchester City took on Nottingham Forest at City Ground. The match ended 1-1, with the champions left to rue their profligacy in front of goal. Bernard Silva opened the scoring for Pep Guardiola’s men towards the end of the first half with a brilliant finish.
Manchester City dominated proceedings throughout, with Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Ilkay Gundogan all responsible for missing good chances. They were punished at the death as Nottingham Forest found an 84th minute-qualiser through New Zealander Chris Wood.
Arsenal now have 54 points to their name while second-place Manchester City have 52 points despite having played one game more.
