In this season's Premier League title race, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City formed a three-legged pattern, in which the Gunners relied on the gift package sent by Manchester United in the last round, drew Liverpool at the Theatre of Dreams, and sat at the top of the Premier League as he wished, but if he wants to have the last laugh, Arteta needs to lead the team in the remaining leagues, as many points as possible, this match day, Arsenal encountered a strong rival in the 33rd round of the league, this season's Premier League biggest dark horse Aston Villa, the latter and Tottenham Hotspur's battle for the top four has also entered the white-hot stage, in order to get a Champions League ticket, they will also go all out in the closing stage of the league, and Villa met for the first time in the season, defeated the Gunners at home, it can be seen that their strength is not weak, and now meet again, whether Arsenal can take revenge will largely determine their championship prospects, Arsenal's home performance is sluggish, in the case of 2 saves at the goalpost, encountered darkness for 3 minutes, and was finally killed by Villa 2-0!
In order to be able to gnaw this tough bone at home, Arteta did not have the slightest reservation, putting on the team's best 4-3-3 formation, Raya continued to play as the starting goalkeeper, Zinchenko, Gabriel, Saliba and Ben White formed a back four, Havertz returned to midfield to partner Rice and Odegaard, the forward trident Jesus was in the middle, and Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka were moving on either side.
As the referee's whistle blew, Arsenal launched a fierce attack on Aston Villa's goal amid the deafening cheers of the Emirates Stadium, and in the 11th minute, Trossard cut inside on the side and sent a through ball, Havertz, who quickly hit the penalty area, completed a shot from a small angle, which was bravely defused by Martin.
Just five minutes later, Arsenal made a comeback, Zinchenko's long pass from the back created a chance for Havertz, but unfortunately Mr. Big was too hesitant to miss the best chance to get off the ball, although he also completed the shot, but was successfully blocked by the active big Martin again.
After withstanding the home team's frantic press, Villa almost received a big gift package in the 39th minute, Gabriel and Zinchenko made a mistake in cooperation, giving Watkins the opportunity to counterattack after a steal, but the latter's shot was denied by the post, and one minute later, Arsenal also returned the color, Trossard received a cross from Jesus and completed a close shot, but the ball was again blocked by the in-form big Martin.
The Arsenal backline, which played with fire before the 61st minute of the second half, once again made a fatal mistake, Zinchenko dragged the ball and was directly tackled by Tielemans in the front, observing Raya's position relatively forward, Tielemans directly kicked into the far corner, and the ball was once again rejected by the goal frame.
In the 84th minute, Aston Villa, who were away from home, finally broke the deadlock on the field, Digne sent a cross from the left, and the teammates and opponents who outflanked in front of the goal did not touch the ball, and Pele at the back point rushed to the empty goal with ease, helping Villa take a 1-0 lead, and only 3 minutes later, Watkins counterattacked and scored a single goal, setting the score at 2-0!
In the two Premier League games that ended earlier, Manchester City beat Luton Town to reach the top of the standings, while Liverpool lost to Crystal Fruit, with Arsenal's loss, the Blue Moon Army sat firmly in the first place in the Premier League at the end of this round, and took the initiative of the Premier League four consecutive titles in their own hands!