Arsenal rocked by Aston Villa, Man City cut gap to two points

TDT | agencies

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Aston Villa ended Arsenal’s 18-match unbeaten run with a dramatic 2-1 win, blowing the Premier League title race open as Manchester City closed the gap to two points with a 3-0 victory over Sunderland. Emiliano Buendia struck in stoppage time to seal Villa’s ninth win in ten league games, completing an impressive turnaround after a poor start to the season.

Arsenal, missing key defenders Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Cristhian Mosquera, struggled against Villa’s attacking pace. Matty Cash fired the hosts ahead before Mikel Arteta introduced Viktor Gyokeres and Leandro Trossard at half-time. Trossard levelled with his 50th Premier League goal, and only a superb stop by Emi Martinez kept Martin Odegaard from scoring. But in the final seconds, Buendia smashed home the winner, leaving Arsenal frustrated. Arteta called the defeat “painful” but said it would test the team’s resolve.

City capitalised with a comfortable win, as Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol scored before Phil Foden added a third. Chelsea’s title push faded further after a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth, keeping them eight points off the top. Tottenham ended a poor run with a 2-0 win over Brentford, while Newcastle beat 10-man Burnley 2-1 to climb to 10th. Everton defeated Nottingham Forest 3-0 to move up to fifth. Liverpool face Leeds later as they try to halt their slide.