Arsenal rallied to defeat Aston Villa 4-2 at Villa Park to return to the top of the Premier League table.

Ollie Watkins opened the scoring for the Villains as he lashed home from a lofted ball over the top by Matty Cash.

The Gunners were level 11 minutes later as Tyrone Mings headed into the path of Bukayo Saka, who had a simple half-volley to score his ninth of the season.

Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez started the passage of play that led to the hosts' second, passing to Boubacar Kamara, who played Alex Moreno in and his first-time cross was left by Emiliano Buendia before Phillipe Coutinho nestled home.

Again, Arsenal equalized as a another short corner by  Martin Odegaard found an unmarked Oleksandr Zinchenko and the Ukrainian then struck low and true past Martinez.

Jorginho won it when his shot struck the joint of crossbar and post before the ball cannoned off Martinez’s back and went in. 

Gabriel Martinelli rolled in the Londoners' fourth after Martinez left the net empty by coming up for a corner.

Here is how VAVEL rated the players on both sides:

Aston Villa

Emiliano Martinez - 5: Had no chance with Saka’s opening goal after Mings’ poor clearance. Would not have been happy with how Zinchenko was given all of the time in the world to lash home past him for 2-2. Booked for time-wasting and his passing out to Villa’s full-backs was a little shaky.

Matty Cash - 7: One of five new faces to the starting lineup at right back. Won the ball off Zinchenko and sent Watkins on his way for the opener. Did more than enough to retain his place next week.

Ezri Konsa - 5: Matched up well with Nketiah. Defended fairly well, but was outjumped and pickpocketed by the forward, before being let off the hook when Odegaard missed. Lacked concentration today.

Tyrone Mings - 6: His poor header into Saka's path led to the opening goal. Did well in challenges, but will be disappointed to be part of a backline that shipped four goals for the second-successive match at home.

Alex Moreno - 6: Made his selection look smart as he delivered a scintillating assist for Coutinho's goal. Matched Saka throughout and the bulk of his work was very good.

John McGinn - 8: First start since Boxing Day and his aggression, ability to charge down balls, getting stuck in and his quality on the ball were sorely missed. Did brilliantly charging back to win possession from Trossard after Emiliano Buendia gave the ball away. 

Boubacar Kamara - 6: Played much better here than against Leicester and set up the second goal. A touch quiet when Arsenal went down the sides.

Douglas Luiz - 6: Was in the heart of the midfield and won possession back, using the ball well whenever he had it.

Philippe Coutinho - 7: A lovely caressed finish past Aaron Ramsdale as he ghosted into the box. Played on the left-hand side and did a lot of the dirty work, getting back in position to help Moreno behind him. Came off with half an hour to go.

Ollie Watkins - 8: Scored his seventh goal of the season and fourth in as many games. Shifted onto his left foot and powered home while causing problems for Arsenal's backline the entire afternoon. Superb performance.

Emiliano Buendia - 6: Was up for the challenge presented to him. Mixed it up and constantly pressured Arsenal. Did waste some good balls and was replaced with 20 minutes to go.

Substitutes

Jacob Ramsey - 5: Put in a nice ball for Duran's late chance.

Leander Dendoncker - 5: Sitting squarely in the midfield, he could not prevent an Arsenal comeback.

Leon Bailey - 6: Played down the right-hand side and ran at Zinchenko to win a corner. Was always in good position, but could have used a little extra space as chances passed him by.

Jhon Duran - 6: Came close to scoring in stoppage time and then curled one that Ramsdale needed to tip away.

Lucas Digne - 5: Was sent on as a like-for-like replacement at left-back.

Arsenal

Aaron Ramsdale - 6: Was beaten for pace with the first goal and could do nothing about the second. Almost got caught out playing from the back on one occasion, but made a superb save to deny Leon Bailey.

Ben White - 7: Was able to get forward and overlap successfully with Buyako Saka and his tireless work ethic in the second half played a large part in the Gunners' comeback.

William Saliba - 5: The first goal was his fault as Watkins should never have gotten the shot off. Played much better in the second half and dealt with Watkins well.

Gabriel - 6: Was not used as much as normal, as most of the build-up play came down the right. Did better defensively here than he did in midweek. Excellent tackle to halt Bailey's progress.

Oleksandr Zinchenko - 6: Terrible in the first half and gave the ball away cheaply which led to Watkins' goal. Was markedly better in the second half and he scored a superb goal.

Jorginho - 8: He was quite possibly the best player on the pitch in the disappointing first half for the Londoners. His influence was less in the second half, but that was only because play was in the Villa half. Took the shot that led to the winner.

Granit Xhaka - 5: Was poor in possession and fooled on a dummy that led to Villa's second goal. Wasn't much of an offensive threat, either. May not keep his place in the starting XI much longer.

Martin Odegaard - 6: Inexcusable miss with the goal at his mercy. Terrible game and made little impact, especially in the first half. Better in the second half, but still not up to his usual high standards.

Bukayo Saka - 7: Was harassed time and time again, but showed great fighting spirit. Good goal and was Arsenal's biggest threat in attack. Took on too much on his own in the second half.

Eddie Nketiah - 6: Wasted some great opportunities again. The one-on-one miss was especially egregious, but made up for it by working hard to create chances.

Leandro Trossard - 5: Invisible in the first half, but grew into the game in the second although he didn't do much when the Gunners attacked down the left.

Substitutes

Gabriel Martinelli - 8: Made some pacey runs down the left, which proved to be a threat. Made sure the points were safe by scoring into an open net. Good performance that should see him back into the starting lineup next week.

Fabio Vieira - N/A: Came on too late to have much of an impact, but did pick up an assist on Martinelli's goal. 

Takehiro Tomiyasu, Rob Holding and Kieran Tierney - N/A: All three came on too late to influence the game.

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