Emiliano Martinez's late own goal proved the turning point as Arsenal came from behind twice to beat Aston Villa 4-2 and boost to their Premier League title hopes.
The Gunners, who were replaced at the summit after losing to Manchester City in midweek, looked to be heading to another underwhelming result at Villa Park before luck went their way in stoppage time.
Ollie Watkins' clinical finish put former Arsenal boss Unai Emery's Villa in charge early on, and although Bukayo Saka soon equalised, the visitors trailed at the break thanks to Philippe Coutinho's sensationally worked team goal.
Oleksandr Zinchenko levelled again and that appeared to be as good as it would get for Arsenal, but Martinez inadvertently put into his own net late on and was then caught up the other end of the pitch as Gabriel Martinelli completed a dramatic turnaround.
Arsenal's limp start provided few clues of the jubilation to come as they were behind inside five minutes.
Matty Cash robbed Zinchenko and released Watkins, who created space with a step-over before lashing across Aaron Ramsdale into the bottom-right corner.
Saka hammered into the roof of the net to level when Ben White's cross was only partially cleared.
But Villa restored their lead in style just past the half-hour mark, Coutinho coolly slotting in from 16 yards after Emiliano Buendia dummied Alex Moreno's cut-back to conclude a brilliant move.
Mikel Arteta's side began to exert more control after the break restored parity again when Zinchenko drilled home with 61 minutes played.
When Martin Odegaard then missed a glorious chance to win it, Arsenal appeared to be heading for a fourth consecutive top-flight game without a win.
But a stoppage-time potshot from Jorginho cracked against the crossbar and ricocheted in off former Arsenal goalkeeper Martinez's head.
Martinez went up for a Villa corner in the hope of making amends, but Arsenal countered, allowing an already-celebrating Martinelli to knock into an empty net.
What does it mean? Arsenal show immense character
Even if they had not ultimately gone on to win, Arsenal would have been due plenty of praise for their attitude here as they twice they came back from a goal down.
In the end, that spirit to keep scrapping away made the win possible, and the victory will surely be a massive boost for their title push after a tricky few weeks.
It looked like Arsenal were going to be four without a win in the Premier League, but they are back at the summit for at least a couple of hours and likely feeling they got what they deserved.
Odegaard a worthy winner
Had his late miss been costly, it would have felt so unjust given the quality of his performance.
Odegaard was sensational here and at the heart of so much of Arsenal's best play. He made seven key passes, including one assist, which is the most by an Arsenal player in a single Premier League game since April 2019.
Martinez antics come back to haunt him
Martinez had been acting up all day. He was routinely time wasting, seemingly trying to wind up Arsenal fans – there was something quite fitting about the late turnaround having him at the centre of it.
Key Opta Facts
- This was Arsenal's 14th Premier League away win against Aston Villa, their joint-best such record against a side in the competition (also 14 against West Ham).
- Arsenal have now conceded the opening goal in four of their last five Premier League games, one more than they did in their first 18 games of the 2022-23 campaign (3).
- Ollie Watkins has scored in each of his last four Premier League games for Aston Villa – it is his longest such run in the top four tiers of English football. Indeed, only Erling Haaland and Marcus Rashford (both 8) have more goals in the competition since the World Cup break than his five.
- Aston Villa’s Philippe Coutinho has now scored five Premier League goals against Arsenal. Against no other opponents does he have more (also five against Manchester City and Southampton).
- Only Erling Haaland (30) and Harry Kane (18) have been involved in more Premier League goals this season than Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (17 – nine goals, eight assists), while it is the second successive season he has reached double figures for goals in all competitions (10), netting 12 in 2021-22.
What's next?
Arsenal go to Leicester City next Saturday, while Aston Villa are at Everton the same day.
'We weren't efficient' - Marquinhos bemoans PSG profligacy after Champions League exit
Marquinhos believes Paris Saint-Germain paid for their profligacy after suffering Champions League semi-final heartbreak against Borussia Dortmund.
Mats Hummels' second-half header from a Julian Brandt corner - the only goal at Parc des Princes - wrapped up a 2-0 aggregate victory for the Bundesliga side, who advanced to their third final and first since 2013.
Meanwhile, PSG's wait to land the elusive European crown goes on, despite a whopping 44 shots across the two legs, while they also struck the woodwork on six occasions - their overall tally of 14 the most recorded by a team during a single campaign.
Indeed, Luis Enrique's side failed to find the net in a home match for the first time since their 0-0 draw with Lorient in their first Ligue 1 match of the season, as their hopes of completing the treble vanished for another year.
"We lacked efficiency," Marquinhos told Canal+. "They scored two goals from corners and a through ball that we had worked on. We had to defend better. These are small details.
"We created chances, a lot more than them. We weren't efficient. They were efficient, they scored two goals and won both matches."
But despite the disappointment, the PSG skipper urged his team-mates to focus on the positives from their run to the semi-finals.
They recovered from a disappointing 4-1 defeat against Newcastle United to finish second behind Dortmund in Group F, before overturning a 4-2 aggregate deficit to deny Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
"There are a lot of things to take away from this competition," Marquinhos added. "At the beginning of the season, no one believed that we would get this far. We've overcome a lot of obstacles, we shouldn't throw everything away now just because we're eliminated.
"You have to remember that it's a new team, with a new coach. There are some positives to bring back for next season. We wanted to go to Wembley for the fans and our families.
"You have to stay calm after the elimination. It's very hard. We've come very close. We had to win tonight and be more efficient."
Veteran campaigner Hummels the hero as fine margins cost PSG
Mats Hummels was Borussia Dortmund's hero on Tuesday, as his goal sent the Bundesliga side into the Champions League final.
Hummels' second-half header was the difference as BVB won 1-0 on the night against Paris Saint-Germain in the French capital, and a 2-0 win on aggregate.
The average age of PSG's starting XI was 24 years and 157 days, which was the youngest starting XI to be named in a Champions League semi-final since Arsenal in May 2009.
Yet it was a veteran campaigner in Hummels who was decisive.
His excellent header was the centre-back's first goal in the Champions League for Dortmund since February 2013.
At the age of 35 years and 143 days, Hummels became the third oldest player to score a Champions League semi-final goal, after Ryan Giggs in 2010-11 (37y 148d) and Edin Dzeko last season (37y 54d).
It was only his fifth goal in the competition, and Hummels' first in 42 games, since he netted for Bayern Munich against Ajax in October 2018.
PSG will ultimately rue the fine margins as their Champions League curse continues.
Kylian Mbappe had five shots, but could not wield his usual influence on proceedings, other than when he hit the crossbar - one of four PSG attempts that struck the woodwork.
Indeed, PSG hit the frame of the goal 14 times throughout their campaign. This is the most on record (since 2003-04) by any team in a single season. Six of these came in this tie.
PSG amassed 3.2 expected goals. This was just the fourth Champions League game on record (since 2010-11) in which a team managed at least 3.0 xG but has failed to score.
This is just the second time a team has won both legs of a Champions League semi-final tie by a 1-0 scoreline – Dortmund were also the other occasion, against Manchester United in 1996-97.
Dortmund have now reached the Champions League final for the third time. The last time they did so was also the last time the showpiece was played at Wembley Stadium (2013), when they lost to Bayern, who they could yet meet again this time around.
Al Ahli 1-2 Al Hilal: Malcom saves league leaders' winning streak
Malcom’s stunning solo goal finished Al Hilal’s second-half comeback to earn a 2-1 win over Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Monday.
The forward started his run from inside his own half before slotting in the winner, after teeing up Aleksandr Mitrovic for the equaliser just after the interval.
Feras Al Brikan had given Al Ahli the lead in the 30th minute, but the hosts could not hold onto it against the league leaders.
Al Hilal continue their unbeaten league campaign to a 30th match, moving 12 points clear at the top of the table, while Al Ahli remain in third, now 22 points off the AFC Champions League spot.
Data Debrief
Malcom was one of Al Hilal's most influential players; as well as playing a hand in both goals, he had the joint-most shots (five), and the joint-most shots on target (two), and created two chances for his team.
Al Ahli also struggled to cope with Mitrovic's threat, as the Serbian created an xG of 0.61 from his five shots, having 11 touches in the opposition box.
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