Aston Villa send title message with last-gasp winner over Arsenal - 5 talking points

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Arsenal were made to dig deep against high-flying Aston Villa on Saturday but it was all for naught as they were stunned right at the death. Leandro Trossard came off the bench to cancel out Matty Cash's first-half opener only for Villa sub Emi Buendia to fire home a winner deep into stoppage-time

Six points separated the teams at kick-off, and that was in danger of coming down to three after Cash fired home. Both teams had chances for a late winner after Trossard's leveller and there were just seconds left when Buendia kept a cool head to settle the game.

The hosts missed a golden early chance to take the lead. Ollie Watkins showed great strength and composure to hold off the attentions of two Arsenal defenders but couldn't get the required accuracy on his shot and allowed David Raya to save.

Arsenal squandered a big chance of their own, with Bukayo Saka planting a header off-target, as the high-flyers played out an open game in the early knockings. The visitors thought they had the lead midway through the opening period, but Saka had strayed offside before rolling the ball across for Ebere Eze to tap home.

As half-time drew closer, though, it was Villa who broke the deadlock. Matty Cash had already gone close once before ghosting in at the back post to power an effort through the legs of Raya.

Arsenal turned to their bench at half-time, with Viktor Gyokeres and Trossard replacing Mikel Merino and Eze. And it took less that 10 minutes for the Belgian to find a leveller after an earlier sighter.

Villa still had their chances, though, with Boubacar Kamara almost punishing them after a high turnover only for two defenders to converge on the Frenchman. Watkins also had a second big chance of the game, but Raya was equal to his effort once again.

Donyell Malen came off the home bench against his former club and went desperately close to a winner when he flashed a low effort across the face of goal, while a Jadon Sancho cross from the other side was almost touched into his own net by Jurrien Timber.

Ultimately, though, Buendia had the last word. Here are Mirror Football 's talking points from a frantic lunchtime encounter at Villa Park.

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It's rare to see Mikel Arteta make a double change at half-time, but he knew something needed to change. And it's hard to argue with him, given the speed with which Trossard stamped his authority on the game.

The Belgian had an eye for goal almost immediately, forcing a stop from Emi Martinez after the Villa keeper failed to get enough purchase on a cross from the Arsenal right. He didn't have to wait long for another opportunity, and this time he made no mistake from close range.

Gyokeres was a little less immediately impactful after arriving in the same double change as he looks to play himself into form after injury. And it was one of the Villa subs who ended up having the biggest part to play.

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Arsenal were without their first-choice centre-backs at Villa Park, with deputy Cristhian Mosquera also absent. However, it was the left-back spot which was left exposed for Villa's opener.

Neither Riccardo Calafiori nor left winger Ebere Eze kept tabs on Cash, who benefited from a deflected cross but still had too much space to fire through Raya. It's rare to see Arsenal concede any kind of goal this term, but they've been particularly immune to that kind of strike.

The half-time introduction of Trossard arguably had a second impact as well as the goal threat. The Belgian's direct attacking play and fresh legs might well have been seen as key to stopping Cash feeling he could bomb forward quite as regularly.

Arsenal were always hopeful Declan Rice had shaken off the knock he picked up against Brentford, but nothing was certain until the line-ups were announced. Within 30 minutes of the match starting, he showed exactly why he's so valuable.

Cash was in acres of space after racing forward from right-back and looked like he just had to pick his spot. He didn't count on Rice, though, with the midfielder sprinting out to put his body on the line and block the effort.

Rice showed his attacking abilities late in the first half, though his low effort didn't have the pace to beat Emi Martinez. His hard running from midfield proved valuable again for the equaliser, with Trossard eventually getting the final touch to a move launched by the former West Ham man, but ultimately it didn't matter thanks to Villa's late winner.

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Arsenal weren't the only ones sweating on the fitness of a player before kick-off. Emi Martinez wasn't able to feature for Villa in midweek as they came from behind to beat Brighton , but he was able to return to face his former club.

The Argentina international was called into action inside the opening 10 minutes, saving from Martin Odegaard. A few minutes after that, he flung himself to the left to keep out Bukayo Saka's effort from range as Arsenal continued to ask questions.

He was where he needed to be at the end of the first half, too, saving calmly from Ben White . The best was yet to come, though, with a fingertip save needed to turn Martin Odegaard's blast over the bar.

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Cash's goal was his third of the season for Villa, to go along with two for Poland in September. That was enough to make him the joint second-highest scorer for Unai Emery's side in the league this season until Buendia added hs fourth late on.

Some nine players have already found the net for Villa this term. That may go some way to explaining why they've been able to recover from a slow start to pose a real threat.

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