Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal: John McGinn’s goal the difference as Mikel Arteta’s side stunned at Villa Park

John McGinn scored the only goal of the game as Aston Villa beat title hopefuls Arsenal 1-0 to move to within two points of the Premier League summit courtesy of a club record 15th-straight home league win.

The hosts got off to a flyer when an electric run from Leon Bailey ended with McGinn swivelling to fire home on seven minutes.

Arsenal grew into the contest and went close through Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka but could not achieve parity prior to the interval.

The visitors continued to press as the game wore on and were unfortunate not to level when a mistake by Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez saw the ball come back off the post before being cleared from underneath the crossbar just shy of the hour.

Kai Havertz did bundle the ball into the net right at the death but the referee ruled it out for a handball and after a lengthy VAR check the on-field decision stood.

Villa looked leggy following the exertions of their midweek success over champions Manchester City, but they defended doggedly to continue their remarkable winning streak on home turf.

The result means Arsenal miss the chance to move back above leaders Liverpool and are now a point behind the Merseysiders in second spot. Villa are a point further back in third.

Arsenal will now travel to PSV Eindhoven to sign off UEFA Champions League Group B prior to hosting Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday.

Villa are away to Zrinjski Mostar in UEFA Europa Conference League Group E before heading to Brentford on Sunday.

What more can you say about Unai Emery’s impact upon The Villans and this imperious sequence of results in their own backyard?

The talk has been about pursuing a top-four finish and although their Spanish coach coolly plays this down, what about going one further with fans now dreaming of a title tilt?

It may not last the test of time but as it stands they are right in the mix at the top of a tight Premier League table and this sensational week will only add belief to this group of players and their supporters.

As for Arsenal, they will rue missed chances as they suffered only their second league loss of the campaign, but the overall performance was solid and Mikel Arteta will expect his men to bounce back. There's no doubt The Gunners will still be right up there come the end of the season.

John McGinn (Aston Villa). The Villa skipper set the tone for his team-mates with a terrific work ethic, quality on the ball and on this occasion he came up trumps with the winning goal. Simply superb.

ASTON VILLA: Martinez 7, Konsa 8, Carlos 8, Torres 8, Digne 8; Bailey 7, Kamara 8, Luiz 8, McGinn 9; Tielemans 7, Watkins 6. Subs: Diaby 7, Ramsey 6, Cash 7, Dendoncker 6, Moreno n/a.

ARSENAL: Raya 6, White 7, Saliba 8, Gabriel 7, Zinchenko 6, Odegaard 6, Rice 6, Havertz 7, Saka 7, Jesus 6, Martinelli 7. Subs: Trossard 6, Nketiah n/a, Nelson n/a.

07’ – GOAL! – Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal (John McGinn): Bailey does brilliantly down the right and cuts it back for McGinn, who turns beautifully before firing home from close in.

40’ – ARSENAL CHANCE! Havertz surges down the left after an error from Konsa. He lays it back for Jesus who in turn finds Odegaard, but the Norwegian's low strike is anticipated by Martinez and he pulls off a superb stop down to his right.

58’ – ARSENAL CHANCE! Martinez flaps at a right-wing corner, knocks it on to Watkins and the post before Konsa beats Saliba to the ball to somehow hack it to safety.

90’ – ARSENAL GOAL RULED OUT! Zinchenko's whipped cross causes chaos in the Villa box. It ricochets off a couple of bodies and Havertz bundles it home from close range. The referee adjudges it to have hit the Arsenal man's hand. VAR checks for a long time but eventually the on-field decision stands.

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