Arsenal score twice in injury time to beat Aston Villa and go top
KEY GOAL: Arsenal's Jorginho celebrates his sides third goal, an own goal by Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez during the Premier League match at Villa Park. Pic: Nick Potts/PA Wire
Jorginho was Arsenal's unlikely hero as he helped fire his new team-mates back to the top of the Premier League table – less than three days after they were knocked off the summit by Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta's surprise January from signing from Chelseas secured a remarkable injury-time comeback as his long range shot hit the bar and bounced into the net off the head of keeper Emi Martinez.
Super sub Gabriel Martinelli scored Arsenal's fourth into an empty net to secure a deceptively comfortable score line. Arsenal looked down and out as they trailed twice to former Gunners manager Unai Emery's fired up Villa side.
But they showed the conviction of potential champions to get their first win in four league games.
Ollie Watkins shot Villa into a fifth minute lead after Alex Zinchenko sloppily lost possession to Matty Cash just inside the Villa half.
Cash instantly passed up field to the in-form striker who cruised beyond William Saliba and drove confidently past a blameless Aaron Ramsdale.
It was a great finish, but nothing in comparison to Bukayo Saka's 16th minute equaliser. Defender Tyrone Mings failed to clear beyond the penalty area and Saka flashed a left foot shot into the roof of the Villa net. Rarely has a ball been struck so sweetly.
There were just over 31 minutes gone when Villa regained the lead as Philippe Coutinho ended a fast-flowing passing move straight out of the Arsenal playbook.
Arsenal, bar the odd impressive run from Saka, struggled to find any rhythm until they levelled again after 61 minutes.
A corner on the right was worked back to the Ukraine international Zinchenko who made amends for his earlier error to score his first ever Premier league goal with a precision low, left foot shot from the edge of the area.
A tense conclusion followed as Arsenal desperately pursued a winner – relieved to see Aaron Ramsdale tip a Leon Bailey effort on to the Arsenal crossbar.
And the match was three minutes into time added on at the end when Jorginho, only playing as cover for the injured Thomas Partey, let fly to defeat former Arsenal FA Cup winning keeper Martinez.
The Argentine World Cup final hero had been winding up home and away fans alike with his relentless time wasting, for which he was booked. The worse outcome for him was that it will go down as an own goal against him.
He was up trying to score from a corner in the eighth minute of added time when Martinelli ran clear and rolled the ball into an empty net.
Martinez 6; Moreno 6 (Digne 78), Mings 5, Konsa 6, Cash 6; McGinn 6, Kamara 6, Luiz 7 (Dendoncker 67); Buendia 6 (Bailey 67), Coutinho 6, Watkins 7 (Duran 78).
Sinisalo, Traore, Chambers, Young, Ramsey.
Ramsdale 8; Zinchenko 7, Saliba 7, Gabriel 6, White 6 (Tomiyasu 79); Xhaka 6 (Vieira 79), Jorginho 7, Odegaard 6; Saka 8, Trossard 5 (Martinelli 68), Nketiah 4.
Turner, Tierney, Smith Rowe, Kiwior, Holding, Nelson.
Simon Hooper 6.
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