Unai Emery’s Aston Villa severely dented Arsenal’s Premier League title bid as two late goals gave them a deserved 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium.
In yet another twist in the run-in, the Gunners were well beaten as Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins struck within three minutes of one another to stun the home fans.
Liverpool had lost at Crystal Palace earlier on Sunday and a fifth league defeat of the campaign for Arsenal leaves Mikel Arteta’s side in second – two points behind reigning champions Manchester City.
Villa were brilliant in a second half they dominated and their superiority eventually paid off as substitute Bailey tapped home at the back post before Watkins took advantage of Arsenal’s high line to burst through on goal and finish with aplomb.
This was former Arsenal boss Emery’s first trip back here with Villa and it was one he would have enjoyed as the Spaniard danced up the touchline when Bailey broke the deadlock.
Sandwiched between both legs of a Champions League quarter-final with Bayern Munich, this Villa match was always going to prove a test for Arsenal and it was one they failed.
Kai Havertz forced Emiliano Martinez into a low save early on before both Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka saw efforts hit the side-netting.
Gabriel Magalhaes has been a rock at the back for Arsenal this season but he gifted possession to Watkins, who almost took full advantage only to see his shot come back off the inside of the post.
Arsenal went straight down the other end and almost took the lead themselves only for ex-Gunner Martinez to make a stunning reflex save to keep out a close-range Leandro Trossard attempt.
Saka then curled a shot inches wide as Arsenal could not find a way through to relieve some of the pressure building around the Emirates.
The sides went in level at the break but Villa were the much better outfit after the interval, restricting the hosts to just four shots in the second half.
With his side in the ascendancy, Emery turned to his bench and introduced Bailey in place of Moussa Diaby, although it was Youri Tielemans who came close moments later.
Oleksandr Zinchenko was caught in possession on the edge of his own box, with Tielemans robbing the ball and hitting both crossbar and post with a fierce drive.
Arteta replaced Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Jesus as he looked to freshen things up but in the closing stages it was Champions League-chasing Villa who would push on to get the three points their performance thoroughly deserved.
Bailey was in the right place at the right time as Lucas Digne’s low cross evaded everyone and landed at the back post where Bailey swept home into an empty goal.
Arsenal reacted by moving even higher up the pitch but it was to prove their undoing as a long ball over the top was raced onto by Watkins, who broke from his own half to collect, hold off Emile Smith Rowe and clip a wonderful finish over David Raya.
While the result could have a massive baring on the destination of the Premier League title, it also improves fourth-placed Villa’s hopes of Champions League qualification as they now move three points clear of Tottenham.
Germany 7-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina: Nagelsmann's side thump visitors to confirm top spot
Germany posted a commanding 7-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in their penultimate fixture in Freiburg to secure top spot in Group A3 of the Nations League.
Florian Wirtz and Tim Kleindienst scored two goals each while Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Leroy Sane were also on the scoresheet as the Germans posted their fourth win and maintained a five-point lead over the Netherlands in second place.
Julian Nagelsmann's side made a blistering start as Musiala headed home with just 78 seconds on the clock.
Borussia Monchengladbach striker Kleindienst then opened his account for Germany as Robert Andrich's effort deflected off him on its way into the goal in the 23rd minute.
Havertz ensured the hosts went into the interval with a three-goal lead, while Wirtz added two more, including a superb free-kick, before the clock struck the hour mark, effectively ending Bosnia's hopes of a comeback.
Sane joined the party in the 66th minute with Germany's sixth before Kleindienst sealed the victory with his second of the night, a close-range finish, 11 minutes later.
The hosts will wrap up their group stage campaign with a trip to Budapest to face Hungary on Tuesday, while Bosnia, sitting bottom with one point, will host group runners-up Netherlands.
Netherlands 4-0 Hungary: Hosts cruise into Nations League quarter-finals
The Netherlands booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Nations League with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Hungary on Saturday.
Two first-half penalties had put the hosts in control before Denzel Dumfries and Teun Koopmeiners secured second place in Group A3 at the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
A medical emergency on the Hungary bench saw the game suspended after eight minutes, but play resumed with a Netherlands penalty after a Tamas Nikitscher handball, and Wout Weghorst confidently converted.
Cody Gakpo then doubled their lead from the spot in first-half stoppage time when Zsolt Nagy tripped Donyell Malen in the box, and Denes Dibusz was sent the wrong way once more.
Weghorst whipped a delightful, long-range curler against the crossbar shortly after the restart, but Dumfries would get their third in the 64th minute with a drilled finish across goal into the far-bottom corner.
Koopmeiners rounded off the scoring late on, meeting Dumfries' inch-perfect cross to power a header past Dibusz and in at the far post, and was denied a second moments later by the post.
Data Debrief: Oranje march on
The Netherlands knew they needed to avoid defeat to make it to the last eight in the Nations League, but Ronald Koeman's side were not going to settle.
They were on the attack from the very start, registering 22 shots as they created 2.92 expected goals.
Dumfries was at the heart of both goals after half-time, and he became the second player in history to score each of his first nine international goals for the Netherlands in the second half, after Pierre van Hooijdonk (also nine).
'We will bounce back', says Taylor after losing WSL top spot
Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor vowed his side will bounce back after they relinquished the lead in the Women's Super League with a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Mayra Ramirez and Guro Reiten both scored in the space of four minutes late in the second half as defending champions Chelsea condemned City to their first league defeat and leapfrogged them to the summit.
Sonia Bompastor's side now have a two-point lead at the top and a game in hand over City, but Taylor was confident his side will continue fighting the Blues for the WSL title.
"We've always done really well on the occasions we have lost, and we don't lose often. It's a tight challenge," Taylor told Sky Sports after the match.
"We are coming to a team that has done well over the years. We will bounce back for certain. The league is never won in November.
"Football is about getting kicked, and it's how you get back up. We are right up there."
The game looked to be heading for a draw for the most part before Ramirez and Reiten struck in the 75th and 79th minutes respectively, as Chelsea ended the game with an xG of 0.85, compared to City's 0.56.
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