Arsenal slip in EPL title race after 2-2 draw with Aston Villa

Arsenal suffered a huge setback in their bid for the English Premier League crown following Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium.

Belgian international Leandro Trossard provided an assist in each half as the Gunners set up a commanding two-goal lead within the first 55 minutes.

The opener came 10 minutes before the interval when Brazilian forward Gabriel Martinelli tapped in Trossard’s precise cross.

Confident after the restart, Kai Havertz doubled Arsenal’s advantage as he calmly guided in the Belgian’s dangerous delivery inside the box.

Nevertheless, the home side’s inability to kill off the game was highlighted once again as Villa staged a stunning eight-minute comeback.

Youri Tielemans pulled one back in the 60th minute after nodding Matty Cash’s cross past Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.

As Villa ramped up the pressure, the scores were soon level after Ollie Watkins volleyed the ball into the back of the net from Cash’s cross.

Although Havertz thought he had found a late winner for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta’s men were denied victory after VAR intervention.

Dropping points at home means second-placed Arsenal are now six points behind EPL leaders Liverpool, who beat Brentford 2-0 on Saturday and still have a game in hand.

Meanwhile, a draw leaves Villa seventh on the table with 26 points.

Although Arteta acknowledged his side’s defensive frailties, the Arsenal boss insisted they could have gained more from the match.

“We deserve much more, that is clear,” he said while speaking to the press.

“But the way we defended for the second goal cannot be part of our game if we want to constantly win games.

“Overall, we were exceptional. There were players who were absolutely dead.

“They perform like this, wow. They just go about it and try to be the best version.”

Meanwhile, Unai Emery was delighted after his side salvaged a point from their London trip.

“We competed well. To get something here is very difficult,” the Villa boss said.

“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 are fighting with really strong teams. How we started the second part of the season has been good.

“(We thought) scoring one goal could open the match for us and it did.”

Aston Villa have a tough Champions League assignment in France on Tuesday night, and top soccer betting sites have them as +180 outsiders for their date with AS Monaco (+135).

Meanwhile, Arsenal are -909.09 favourites with Bovada to defeat Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb (+1600) on Wednesday.

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