Aston Villa v Arsenal Post-Match Thread

[TCFKAE2]

Nas & Wes were in the house. Wes singing along to "Hi Ho" at the end like a good un!

[FrankyH]

[SaddVillan]

From The Athletic

Ten seconds of chaos: Buendia and the beauty of a goalmouth scramble

It was 10 seconds of utter chaos.

Did we just witness one of the Premier League’s most dramatic goalmouth scrambles? And how significant could that incredibly messy passage of play prove to be?

As Arsenal’s game at Aston Villa moved into the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, mayhem broke out in the goalmouth the Premier League leaders were defending. At the end of it all, Emiliano Buendia kept his composure to score a winner with the final kick of the game, taking Villa three points behind Arsenal, whose lead at the top of the Premier League was later cut to two points by Manchester City’s 3-0 win against Sunderland.

Goalmouth scrambles can often bring out the best (or worst) in players and this one was no different, with Villa eventually getting their reward after a sequence involving shots, blocks, flying tackles and sheer desperation.

There is nothing quite like the emotional rollercoaster during such a chain of events, particularly for those inside the stadium. This may go down as one of the best the Premier League has seen.

One can only speculate about the urgent destinations of those who decided to leave Villa Park before the final whistle.

They might not have missed a goal-of-the-season contender, but they did miss the most dramatic ending of any Villa game for some time.

A goalmouth scramble usually starts with an element of control before descending into desperation.

Morgan Rogers, at his best in the 2-1 victory, crossed deep for substitute Jadon Sancho, who headed back towards goal. So far, nothing out of the ordinary.

What followed began to change the mood, as Youri Tielemans charged in and saw his effort stopped by David Raya, who would have thought he might be actually saving his side a valuable point.

Yet Arsenal, who have the best defensive record in the Premier League — partly because of Raya’s brilliance — failed to clear the ball, giving Buendia an opportunity from three yards out. This time, though, Jurrien Timber came to the rescue with a sliding block. After two shots in two seconds, order was now well and truly lost.

At this point, Arsenal began to panic. Like in any classic goalmouth scramble, bodies were on the line and as Buendia emerged with the ball and looked for Boubacar Kamara, Timber and Declan Rice charged towards the Frenchman.

Martin Odegaard then knocked Kamara over before Rice and Timber slid to the ground and formed what looked to be a protective shield.

But somehow Kamara managed to retain some composure, rise to his feet and take control. How Arsenal had not cleared at this point remains a mystery, and despite the presence of four players, Kamara held off any advances to allow Buendia another opportunity to strike.

This time, there would be a conclusion. What happened next was the final piece of the puzzle — as Buendia connected sweetly and squeezed his shot through the gap of two players, Arsenal sank to the floor in despair.

When the ball hit the back of the net, the ultimate goalmouth scramble was complete, with the most satisfying of outcomes for the home supporters.



These were 10 of the most chaotic seconds this Premier League season is likely to see, and by the end of the campaign, it may be one of its defining moments.

[KevinGage]

Villa just have everything don’t they? Manager, team, stadium, atmosphere.

From KUMB.

Ahem.

Did you post it before? I thought someone would, but only checked a couple of pages. Soz like.

No worries, I'd forgive anything after today's result.   It did stand out in the 'Other Games' thread there.

Someone else posted during the week that it would be difficult for them to stay up playing 38 away games. Guess they wish they'd stayed at Upton Park.

The last bit is exactly why we should do everything humanly possible to stay at our 128 year old ground.

Indeed.

[Woody17]

What a fantastic pic…….had to share on here.

[paul_e]

Brilliant performace against the best team in the country right now. I was more than happy with the draw at 90 mins, but the winner was amazing. The number of times we kept the ball alive was superb. One of the all time great Villa Park moments. Delighted for Buendia. What a bonus ball he has been this season.

It depends what 'right now' means, if you go by form in the last 5 it's us.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Brilliant performace against the best team in the country right now. I was more than happy with the draw at 90 mins, but the winner was amazing. The number of times we kept the ball alive was superb. One of the all time great Villa Park moments. Delighted for Buendia. What a bonus ball he has been this season.

It depends what 'right now' means, if you go by form in the last 5 it's us.

Best team in the country for the last 10 games.
1..Us 27 pts
2..Man C  24 pts
3..Arsenal  23 pts

[Brazilian Villain]

What a fantastic pic…….had to share on here.

Typical Ollie, not smiling or celebrating when someone else scores.

[paul_e]

I went with last 5 because that's about a month and feels like a suitable timescale for 'right now' but yes our form has been exceptional since Sunderland (and I'd argue that the points against them and Everton are actually better results than we thought at the time).

[Dave]

Had a lovely time watching it with an Arsenal mate.

Then had a trip out to a Santa's grotto thing with the children - last year at the same place I was waiting outside following the match thread as Forest scored those two late goals.

This time was less angrifying.

[enigma]

What a fantastic pic…….had to share on here.

I've seen some great ones so far but that's my favourite yet.

[cdbearsfan]

What a fantastic pic…….had to share on here.

Typical Ollie, not smiling or celebrating when someone else scores.

It's pretty obvious from that picture that Ollie has raced from the bench just to push Emi over. The bastard.

[Jane]

What a fantastic pic…….had to share on here.

Typical Ollie, not smiling or celebrating when someone else scores.

It's pretty obvious from that picture that Ollie has raced from the bench just to push Emi over. The bastard.

Fucking Ollie. Just get out.

[BoVillan esq]

Breathtaking edge of the seat stuff and Villa had the last word, send the message out across the country, 'Don't think your coming to Villa Park and expecting to get a leg up' it ain't happening, we are in there, what a couple of goals and the last minute scramble has just shown how the lads was going to force it past Arsenal no matter what, said before their is nobody we can't take on now. 

[pauliewalnuts]