Arsenal move back to the top of the Premier League, after a dramatic late own goal from Emiliano Martinez and Gabriel Martinelli's winner was enough to beat Aston Villa 4-2 in a blockbuster affair.
Unai Emery was looking for a response from his side, after Villa suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time in his tenure to Leicester City and Manchester City.
Arsenal came into this one with only one point from their last three Premier League games in a difficult period for the Gunners which had seen them drop to second in the table.
Ollie Watkins piled more misery onto Mikel Arteta as he opened the scoring in the first five minutes after he was picked out by Matty Cash on his first start since the FA Cup defeat to Stevenage.
Arsenal equalised ten minutes later when Bukayo Saka slammed in a stunning volley, capitalising on Tyrone Mings' poor-headed clearance.
Emery's side retook the lead before half-time with a well-worked goal, leaving Philippe Coutinho unmarked on the edge of the box to fire Villa ahead and score his first Premier League goal since the last game of last season.
In a vital second half for the Gunners, Oleksandr Zinchenko fired them level from the edge of the box to score his first Arsenal goal, with the visitors looking to move to the top of the table.
Arsenal won it late on with Jorginho's effort hitting the bar and bouncing in off Martinez in the Villa net. Martinelli iced the cake as the Brazilian finished into an open net with Martinez up for an Aston Villa corner.
Story of the Match
The ex-Arsenal manager, Emery, came into this match having never been beaten by his former employers. To try and continue that streak, he made five changes to the side that was beaten 3-1 by Man City, with John McGinn and Coutinho among the changes.
Arteta made two changes from the midweek title clash with Man City, bringing in Ben White, and Leandro Trossard for his first Premier League start for Arsenal, after his first Arsenal goal last Saturday against Brentford.
Aston Villa started much the better side and had a deserved lead in the opening five minutes.
Zinchenko was dispossessed deep into the Aston Villa half by Cash, who picked out Watkins with a ball over the top of the Arsenal defence. The Aston Villa forward drove at William Saliba and fired across the goal into the bottom right corner to give the Villains an early lead.
Aston Villa was frustrating Arsenal who were struggling to find rhythm in their build-up, with far too many stray passes in the opening ten minutes.
Arsenal’s start was encapsulated by a shocking dive from Eddie Nketiah in the 10th minute. The forward was lucky to escape a booking for simulation.
The Gunners grew into the game and began to dominate possession. They almost had an equaliser if it was not for some heroic defending from Tyrone Mings, who nipped in just as it looked like Nketiah was going to head into an empty net.
Arteta’s side did have their equaliser a few minutes later, when a poor headed clearance from Mings fell to the feet of the prolific Saka, who punishes the Villa defender and slammed Arsenal level with a brilliant, volleyed finish into the top left corner, leaving Martinez with no chance.
It was not long until Villa regained their lead, with a delightfully worked second goal. Alex Moreno got in behind White, who played it towards the edge of the Arsenal box.
Emiliano Buendia dummied it brilliantly, leaving Granit Xhaka dumfounded. Coutinho arrived, composed himself, and sent Aaron Ramsdale the wrong way to give Villa the lead again in a thoroughly entertaining opening 45 minutes.
There were no changes for either side at half-time, with an important 45 minutes to come for Arsenal.
The Gunners almost had an early equaliser in the second half, when White stood a cross towards the back post, and Nketiah rose highest and headed it onto the top of the bar.
Arteta's side did have their equaliser from a set-piece routine. The corner was taken short to Martin Ødegaard who found Zinchenko on the edge of the box and the full-back lasered it into the bottom-right corner.
With their tails up, Arsenal looked to take the lead for the first time in the match, when Nketiah found himself one on one with Martinez, but the forward took it wide and fired over.
The game began to open up after the Arsenal equaliser, with either side looking like they could score the game's fifth goal.
Arsenal should have been ahead with 15 minutes to go, with Ezri Konsa caught in possession by Nketiah who squared to Ødegaard, but the Arsenal captain dragged his shot wide of the right post.
Substitute Leon Bailey almost gave Villa the lead for the third time in the match. The Jamaican bought the ball down brilliantly on the right touchline, drove into the Arsenal box and fired one off the bar. Ramsdale got a vital touch to push it onto the woodwork.
January signing John Duran almost won the game in injury time, as the Colombian put in a lung-busting run before trying to bend one in, but Ramsdale beat it away.
They were made to rue their missed chances, with Arsenal going up the other end and winning the game in the 93rd minute, with a slice of luck. Jorginho slammed the bar, but the ball bounced off the back of Martinez's head and into the net; what a big goal that could be in the title race.
Martinelli finished the game off as Arsenal countered with Martinez up for an Aston Villa corner. Fabio Vieira played Martinelli in and the winger walked the ball into an empty net.
Player of the Match
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
The England international was unplayable at times today, even when he was suffering with what looked to be an ankle injury.
Saka took his goal impeccably, with a brilliant finish that not even two goalkeepers would have saved.
His goal was his tenth of the season, more that any other Arsenal player this campaign.