Arsenal delivered a dominant performance against Aston Villa, but for the second consecutive season, Unai Emery dealt his former club’s title hopes a significant blow as his side fought back from two goals down to earn a draw.
The Gunners should have seen the game out after Kai Havertz doubled the advantage given to them by Gabriel Martinelli but defensive lapses allowed the visitors back into things as Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins pounced in the box.
Adding insult to injury, VAR, citing handball, ruled out a late winner after Havertz deflected a Mikel Merino past Emi Martinez. With Liverpool snatching a last-gasp victory over Brentford, the title now appears firmly in the Reds’ hands.
Here’s what the managers, players, pundits and stattos made of the action…
Arteta on his side not getting what they deserved…
We were unbelievable again, I’m so proud of the way we played, how dominant we were, how fluid we were, how much we put into it. We played three games in six days, one with 120 minutes, almost the same players, I’m so proud of them and at the same time so disappointed with the result and especially with how softly we conceded the second goal. In general, our overall play, our high press, the way we defended, individually some massive performances, we deserve more, we didn’t get it and we’re sad because of that.
Source: BBC Sport
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Unai Emery on the way his side fought back…
We competed well. To get something here is very difficult. To compete like we did is the only way. They were controlling and pushing more [earlier on]. We had to defend strongly. The second half we reacted well. The mentality we showed is the mentality we want. We needed the goalkeeper, the defenders. We were always trying some transitions. Fantastic job. Now we are in good balance. We are fighting with really strong teams. How we started the second part of the season has been good.
Source: Sky Sports
2 – Arsenal have failed to win a Premier League home game in which they led by 2+ goals for the first time since October 2019 (2-2 vs Crystal Palace), having won each of their last 46 before tonight. Agonising.
— OptaJoe (@optajoe.com) January 18, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Gabriel Martinelli on a disappointing evening…
It’s a disappointing day. We wanted to win the game, but we have to keep going. We trust in ourselves, and we have to keep going and improving – it is a long journey to go. We have to focus on ourselves. That’s football, that’s the Premier League, the most difficult league in the world. We have to see the game and see what we have done wrong and improve for the next games. We know our qualities and we know the potential we have and we trust in ourselves.”
Source: Sky Sports
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Villa goalscorer Ollie Watkins on Arsenal’s defending…
We knew they went man to man. There was chances there to be taken as they’re always a little bit open. When I got my goal I felt we had enough time to push on and get a goal, but it was about being brave and making more passes.
Source: Sky Sports
11 – Arsenal have scored more goals from crosses than any other team in the Premier League this season (11), while Leandro Trossard is one of only two players to assist 2+ goals via crosses in a game this season (also Damsgaard v Wolves in October). Formula.
— OptaJoe (@optajoe.com) January 18, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Martinelli on his goal…
It was an amazing cross from Leo, to be fair I thought the ball wasn’t in, but luckily the ref gave us the goal.
Source: Arsenal.com
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Ollie Watkins on VAR ruling out a late Arsenal winner…
Seeing it back there, I’m not sure. I think it’s going in favour of us to be honest. From that angle, I’m not sure. But that’s what VAR is there for.
Source: Sky Sports
Arsenal have dropped 12 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, their most in a single campaign since 2019-20 (21).
Our stats report from their 2-2 draw against Aston Villa:
theanalyst.com/2025/01/arse…
— Opta Analyst (@optaanalyst.optajoe.com) January 18, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Paul Merson on the handball awarded against Kai Havertz…
It’s handball. It’s blatant. The rules are, if it hits your hand…I can’t believe Havertz has run away [to celebrate], what’s he thinking. I can understand if you do that in the Championship, you’re going to get away with it, there’s no VAR. You know.
Source: Sky Sports
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Ian Wright on Arsenal needing to sign players this month…
The underlying factor is the manager needs help. You look at the benches; you look at who they’re able to bring on. It just looks like he needs help now. They need help. We have to buy some players. We have to. Even when Saka was fit, we needed another forward. We need to get bodies into that team to help them. They look knackered after a while there as well. They need help.
Source: premierleague.com
0.8 – Since the start of 2022-23, Arsenal have conceded 0.8 goals per Premier League game when William Saliba has played (85 matches), compared to 1.7 per game when he hasn’t featured (13 matches). Integral.
— OptaJoe (@optajoe.com) January 18, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Arteta on whether he’s worried about William Saliba’s hamstring issue…
Yes, for sure, especially with the numbers we have in the squad and looking at our bench. Very worried.
Source: Post-game press conference
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Youri Tielemans on a positive draw for Villa…
From our point of view [a good result] is always deserved. We take the point and move forward. They had many chances but we defended with our bodies on the line. 2-2 is a good result for us.
Source: BBC Sport
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One win, four draws and one defeat. To be fair it’s mostly dictated by injury.
Record without him at right back Won 11 Drawn 4 and Lost 1.
— Orbinho (@orbinho.bsky.social) January 18, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Agree with Wrighty, but don’t see us splashing the cash this month.
And stato Orbinho – No more Partey at RB
You’re probably right. I’m just shocked at the number of people who seem to believe that:
Wise up. These are the *Kroenkes*. Being unwilling to spend at critical junctures is not a new pattern. With minimal effort, the Arsene-era joke about Cash Reserves FC can be re-purposed into one about “PSR Headroom”. Much has changed since then, except at the very top.
What a load of rubbish.
Apologists will do everything to divert responsibility away from Arteta won’t they ?
Although backing Arteta to tune of £500+ million it is somehow not enough. I think their only fault is being too supportive of someone who seems to be incapable of delivering success.
Have you watched any of what has happened this season?
Your comment has got my day off on the wrong foot, shame on you!
If after spending 3 quarters of a billion pounds we don’t have the depth and level of players required that’s not the Kroenkes fault
Well, you have to look at where he started from, Arteta had to try to build a whole new squad of players, and if you want to complain about the cost, direct your anger at Chelsea, Man Utd and Man city.
Totally agree with you. The Kroenkes bought Rice for 100 millions. I do not think they are the ones who decided to not buy a striker in favor of other positions.
They greenlit that transfer at a time when they were still trying to get fans back onside after a botched transition, general fall off in interest during COVID and the Super League blowback. They don’t feel under the same pressure now.
1. I mostly agree.
1. You can’t count! 😄
I am fed up to hear ours is the most difficult league in the world. It’s often over by January!
No it’s not. Total fabrication.
Just to say something positive amidst all the negativity, man I love this team and the memories that they have given me this past 4 years. Starting with the ill fated season where we finished 5th to now. I love Martinelli and I’ll always associate him with this time of hope, goals against Liverpool and City and that breakaway goal against Chelsea. Beating Spurs repeatedly. Saka’s emergence as a world class player. Big Gabi and his rocket headers. Saliba coming in from nowhere to be a rolls Royce. Ben White’s shithousery. Super Mik Arteta making us a team to be… Read more »
Well said! Still a long way to go. COYG!
Mate, sorry to hear that this a shitty period in your life. I really hope things improve for you very soon. I wish I could be of more help.
Thanks mate, appreciate it
Odegaard defence splitting post that Chip, this Arsenal makes me proud to be a gooner. Unfortunately the Wenger/Unai/Arteta out mob shout the loudest, and this becomes lazy journalists narrative. 45 years deep I have seen a fair few versions, this team has me excited. We are so close, shit luck this year but still in the race and CL, so some of the bollocks we see written is just laughable. Got about 20 cup finals ahead, so we should all get behind the lads! COYG
Funny that an actual Villa player is saying that the handball is dodgy…
His hand was on his body. How on earth is that a foul??
This is not like a peno given to them for a ball that hit a player’s arm involuntarily but a goal cancelled because the ball was considered to have been redirected.
Credit to him. I accept that it was looked at and given, and we live with that. But it’s very very far from obvious, even on multiple slowed down replays. Paul Merson can do one.
Paul merson is a dick, rebrand him Paul Moron
Whereas recovering alcoholic, former cocaine addict and degenerate gambler Merson says it was a blatant handball. I know who I believe.
Degenerate? Not really. He regenerated his life enough to be the guy (despite being wrong on this occasion) who overcame his demons and gets paid to offer his opinion. I say, well done Mr Merson, you’ve proved yourself to be a shining example of hope, not a degenerate. Just my musings
Agreed. Judge him in a football capacity, until he comes into work under the influence, give the guy his chance at fulfilling his redemption and keep your snotty judgement under harness.
You never know if and when the tide might change for you or someone you love.
Its a tough enough world without big-wigs and varicosed veined fingers like yourself making it more suffocating
In a generation where mental health is acknowledged (or should be) more so than not, your comment is not welcome and stinks of high horse fever
Not your comment, but CER’ders
Yet Joelinton’s , which completely changed the direction of the ball, pushing it into the path of a fellow Newcastle player and creating a goal vs Spurs wasn’t handball. Kamala kicked the ball away at the end when we were pressing for the win, so delaying the restart, No booking. So it’s only Arsenal, again, that suffer at best odd sending off decisions. PGMOL are no longer abiding by rules set down in the rule book and are now deciding games themselves on a regular basis. Honestly, what is the point of watching the PL anymore, when it is officiated… Read more »
In the rules there’s a difference between goal scoring by handball and touch in the box by any other player
Was it handball?
How does that give the scope not to call Joelinton’s a handball?
There is a difference, but I don’t think it comes from the laws of the game. I am pretty sure that if it is not a “handball” the goal would be given in most countries. I think the Premier League–though it is perhaps the FA–has a policy that a goal can’t be given if it has touched the hand of the player who has scored. So, for example, if a clearance hits an attacker’s hand where it is indisputably ball-to-hand (so not a handball) and bounces into the net, the goal would be given in other countries, but not in… Read more »
What is a handball then? Perhaps footballers should have their arms tied behind their backs…
If its Arsenal – handball every day of the week and for all eternity. Preferably with a fine of some sort for Arteta.
If it’s anyone else, especially eternal darlings Liverpool or PL owners C115y – the goal stands firmer than Rocco Siffredi’s cock. With extra pats on Arne Slot’s back because “oh gee isn’t he just so swell and humble?”.
Fuck the PGMOL! Fuck Merson too!
Ever since I found out that Paul Merson is a Chelsea fan, it pisses me off that he’s the one that Sky put on as the “Arsenal representative”.
What a stupid comment – of course Kai bloody celebrated…if it was a handball, which it wasn’t, then he’d have made it obvious by not celebrating.
The ball clearly smacked him on the arm and was deflected as a result. Unlucky but it is what it is…
It’s so ‘clear’ and ‘blatant’ that people are going full forensic about it on the timelines.
Such language kills any possibility of rational debate around it.
fwiw I’ve seen multiple angles of it: at one point I’m certain it hits his forearm and then it absolutely doesn’t.
blue dress gold dress kinda thing
In which case the referee, who gave the goal, should favour the attacking player, unless it’s Arsenal of course.
Go and rewatch it, it’s his stomach and not his arm
in my tv i saw the touch of hisarm in the first image, unfortunatly ☹️
Been sometime since we let a 2 goal lead slip, not wanting to heap blame on the individual errors at the back for villa’s goals but we were still going for the hard press which left us open rather than having banks of 5 sitting in our area to counter/waste time/see out the game, very disappointing result but our players gave it their all on top of a hard schedule of games in which I’m proud of them, the negative is the result but the positives are we have played well recently, we went out of cup on pens, we… Read more »
We are at the stage of the season where it is instructive to look at maximum points still available: Liverpool: 101 Arsenal: 92 Manchester City: 86 I include City only to basically show that they might not even win the title even if they won their final 17 games. They will probably finish in the 70s anyway. I do think this shows how little wriggle room is left for Arsenal. If Liverpool were to lose 2 and draw 3 of their final 17, for example, that would only put them down to 89 points, just 3 below where Arsenal currently… Read more »
All you can do is this about Wolves next Saturday, and so on. Maybe we’ll win maybe we won’t. Isn’t it great that we’re back competing. A lot of us said that in the shit times, ” all I want is a team that genuinely competes for the title and champions league”. Well guess what, that’s where we are now. We’re back competing. We have a team of 100% honest players and a manger who cares. We’re a far cry from where we were.
Exactly, a little perspective is needed.
Absolutely this. Well said sir.
Six points behind the leader having played a game more is not competing is it ? The only thing we are competing for is Wengers Top Four Trophy – the table and common sense tells you that.
so then give up! 😃
So what you’re saying is that nobody is competing except one team out of 20.
Can I also just say a sincere and genuine FUCK Ollie Watkins. There’s only so many times one man can kill our title dreams.
He’s an Arsenal fan and I have a soft spot.
I do not think he is an elite forward. He is older than the type of forwards we have been after, but it would have been great to have signed him a few seasons back.
I actually wanted him in the summer we got Jesus and was disappointed we weren’t linked. The potential was clear but Unai has got it out of him.
We could play the “whose injury record is worse” game, both before and after that summer business, but what would be the point?
Dropping points from winning positions. Thats fatigue. Credit to Emery – he took a crock of the proverbial to the Europa League final with us. They sold a good player for them in the summer and have gone from strength to strength, competing well in the Champions` League as well. We got tired, lost concentration and they took most of their chances well. He banked on it and there is not much we can do about that right now apart from coaching and the right mentality. We need to focus on playing with the same tenacity and attitude in every… Read more »
Fuck off, Merson.
Since 2019 Arsenal have signed six attackers compared to seventeen defenders. If you want an answer to why Arsenal’s season will amount to nothing once again there it is. And there is one person to blame for that…
Well, our defense is world class and only few defense in the world can withstand our attack for 90 minutes. So what your point?
The point is we had Sterling as our attacking option on the bench.
Lots of defenders but you can’t play them up front can you?
Is it world class? World class defenders don’t let in two stupid goals against Newcastle (who got their arse whipped by Bournemouth) or villa (who are crap)
It’s not only world class. It’s the best defence in world football, both in terms of first team quality and depth.
The win ratio for when TP plays at rb is only half the story here. Although he’s not outstanding at rb, the main effect is that we lose what he brings to the midfield. So rather, we should be looking at our win ratio when TP starts for us in the midfield and the numbers will corroborate this.
Watkins better than Havertz, Tielemans better than Merino, I honestly don’t think Rice is better than Tielemans either…… and I’m not saying that because the guys scored the two equalizing goals, they are better players overall.
Plus Thomas Partey as RB doesn’t work, Arteta could play Kiwior as CB and Timber in his RB position.
Has anyone seen Arsenal against Ipswich, FFS , you knew they weren’t close enough to win the championship.
Liverpool will win the 24/25..
Loser mentality.
0r possibly just reality.
Of course Ipswich won’t win the championship. They’re in the PL this season.
Imagine what could have happened if we hadn’t spent £100 million on Calafiori and Merino and instead spent it on a striker and a top class back up to Saka. But that is not MA’s fault – everything that has gone wrong with Arsenal – the shift to a cautious boring style of play, reliance on set plays, failure to strengthen the squad is clearly the fault of Merson/PGMOL/VAR etc etc etc. It is quite funny to read it because it must really take some effort for them to convince themselves that Arteta has been completely powerless to prevent this..… Read more »
The summer transfer business was absolutely shocking. Many attacking players were either sold or loaned while bringing an ineffective and demoralized sterling. Merino signing was not ideal as it has been proven that he is not suited to the rigour of the league. Furthermore,while imost teams submitted 27 man list ,arteta’ and Arsenal submitted only 23 players without taking into consideration injuries,poor form,suspension etc. The team will function. better with a sporting director that will assist the coach in identifying players,scouting and buying them. Imagine the team still not having the right will to move swiftly to sign players at… Read more »
They looked at Merino who, in all honesty had excellent stats and thought he could duplicate that here. It doesn’t always work out that way.
The absence of a sporting director makes me think it is less likely we will sign anyone. One good thing though we are good at left back and centre of midfield 🙂
We are good at GK, LB, CBx2, RB, CDM/CM/CAM, and RW. Timber got crocked in game 1 last season, which may have affected the Calafiori decision, and MLS might not have been expected to be this good during the summer window. Merino was meant to be a boost in LM. I think the aim last summer WAS to deepen the team, but injuries really fucked us. Merifiori were closer to £80M than £100, and I don’t think you get a top tier striker and top tier Saka cover for £80M. Let’s see if Calafiori can stay fit for more than… Read more »
I have watched the replay a few times now and I can’t really see the handball and his arm was by his side.
As long as when it happens to every other team and the same rule is kept no problem.
Just watch out the next time it happens and the PGMOL pundits and those cnuts on sky will come up with some tripe
Why was Kamara yesterday not given a 2nd yellow for booting the ball away..
The same fcuking Kavahangh…aaaarggg!!!
we Bash sterling stating he is past it and useless.. but why has no one really mentioned the obvious … when was an extremely one footed left winger ever a right winger ….trossard weak foot is so much stronger then sterling’s weak foot … so arteta needs to bring him on in the left winger position not the right… the guy has spent his whole career playing left wing …and scoring goals with direct goal threat . .. so why handicap the team by playing him on the right ..where he will fumble crosses and run in to the are… Read more »
It’s the same reason that he plays Havertz as a striker when he clearly isn’t a striker and Partey as a right back when he is a defensive midfielder – square peg into a round hole 😕
While I agree with the handball and the disallowed goal, I want to ask an honest question.
If KH was an Aston Villa player in the same position and similar handball event, would the VAR have awarded a penalty to us?
No but I belive that comes down to rules: from what I understand, there’s a distinction between the attacker and defender in such situation, whereas laws for attackers are far more strict (basically any touch with a hand results in goal disallowed).
The law is an ass.
🤣
So if that was Watkin and not their defender, they would still choose to ignore awarding a penalty to Arsenal but they can chalk off KH’s goal in a matter of 3 seconds?
So going into the season we were in fairly good shape with depth (not great, but had some good quality and players with potential like MLS and Nwaneri), but the number of injuries we’ve suffered and to so many key players for long periods of time (Saka, Odegaard, White, Jesus, etc.) plus other key players missing time and playing injured often (Gabriel, Rice, Saliba, Calafiori, Nwaneri, etc.) has been too tough to overcome at times and really has made winning the league very improbable for us at this point. Of course we can add in the dropped points to dumb… Read more »
We’re done. Cooked. We should all accept that. We’ve run these players into the ground and now they’re unsurprisingly breaking. We never took advantage of any points Liverpool have dropped, and we’ve lost too many games and points to opposition we should have no trouble beating. You cannot win the league without a striker, and to think we can is foolish. Scratch this down to another cripplingly disappointing season and move on. Without Saka and Saliba, what hope is there when the drop in quality from first team to replacements is so vast.