Overview
- Aston Villa beat Arsenal 2-1 at Villa Park with Emiliano Buendia scoring in stoppage time, trimming Arsenal’s lead over Manchester City to two points and bringing Villa closer.
- Mikel Arteta acknowledged the absence of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, with Cristhian Mosquera also expected to miss weeks, as Jurrien Timber and Piero Hincapie formed a makeshift pairing.
- Reports described a flashpoint between Declan Rice and captain Martin Odegaard after the decisive goal, reflecting visible frustration within the squad.
- Opta-sourced modelling still rates Arsenal as title favourites at about 72%, with City near 19% and Villa just under 6%, underscoring how short runs can shift probabilities.
- Arsenal face Club Brugge on Wednesday, Wolves on Saturday and an EFL Cup quarter-final next week, with local analysis urging rotation after five high-intensity matches in 14 days and Timber calling for the loss to fuel improvement.