Analysis: Stirring Arsenal fightback demonstrates why it's dangerous to write Aston Villa off

After 55 minutes at Arsenal on Saturday you thought you’d seen the reason keeping pace with the likes of Newcastle, Chelsea and yes, Bournemouth (do not adjust your newspaper) would prove beyond them. Namely, they just can’t get a result away from home against any decent standard opposition.

Then 13 minutes later, you’re back believing again. Ollie Watkins sends a volley in off the bar and in what feels like the blink of an eye Unai Emery’s team have erased a two-goal deficit.

They might not have ultimately gone on to claim victory and become the first visiting team to win in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium since they themselves achieved the feat more than nine months ago. 

But in a season which has seen a few too many points slip away, this was one snatched back from opponents who thought they were making off with all three when Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz put them into a 2-0 lead.

For the second season running they dented the Gunners’ title aspirations. Emery, unbeaten in three trips back to the club who sacked him in 2019, remains a nuisance in N7.

The Spaniard’s focus is now entirely on Villa and this draw kept his team firmly in the mix, just two points behind Newcastle after taking eight points from four matches since that bruising 3-0 Boxing Day defeat on Tyneside. Coming right on the back of last week’s 1-0 win at Everton, which snapped a five-match losing run away from home in the Premier League, this again seemed evidence of a corner turned.