Arsenal stunned late by Aston Villa and Man City closes gap at the top to 2 points

The Premier League title race was blown open after Arsenal conceded in stoppage time and lost at Aston Villa 2-1 on Sarturday.

Emiliano Buendia struck at the death and stunned first-placed Arsenal.

That allowed second-placed Manchester City to close the gap at the top to two points after beating Sunderland 3-0.

Villa was a point further back in third.

Chelsea could not take advantage, dropping points for the third game in a row in a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.

Buendia’s winner came in the fifth minute of added time at Villa Park where the substitute lifted a shot through a crowded box and into the roof of the net.

“In the manner that happened at the end, obviously, (it is) really difficult to take,” Arteta told TNT Sports.

It was the third successive time that Arsenal has dropped points away from home after draws with Sunderland and Chelsea. Those results have opened the door to rivals such as City and Villa.

Villa’s ninth win from its last 10 games followed a dire start to the campaign when Unai Emery’s team was winless after five games.

“At the minute we’re on a great run,” said Matty Cash, who put Villa ahead in the 36th. “We know it’s not even Christmas yet so we have to keep being demanding, keep being consistent, and then we’ll see where it takes us.”

Leandro Trossard was a halftime substitute for Arsenal and he made a quick impact by leveling the game seven minutes later.

Buendia went on in the 87th and proved an inspired substitution, lifting a shot past Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.

“We fight until the last minute, the last second, it was a really incredible win,” Buendia said.

Arsenal’s second loss of the season was its first since August at Liverpool.

“We are 18 games unbeaten, and yet still the margin is so small,” Arteta said. “The effort was absolutely there and (we must) use that pain to go again.”

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer