Aston Villa defeated Arsenal 1-0 at Villa Park on Saturday night, securing a club-record 15th consecutive win at home in the Premier League. This comes after Villa defeated reigning league champions Manchester City 1-0 at home during the midweek.
The home team got the game off to a fiery start as Leon Bailey sprinted down the right wing before cutting back the ball to the center, where John McGinn took one touch and fired home a thunderous shot to hand Villa the lead after seven minutes of play. Villa continued to dominate and remained solid at the back to prevent the Gunners from finding an equalizer for the rest of the match.
When asked about whether his team is contending for the Premier League title, Villa manager Unai Emery simply remarked, “I will speak when we are in [week] 30, 32, and if we are in the same position then as we are now, I can speak about [the title race].” With this victory, Villa have propelled themselves into third place on the Premier League table, just two points behind league leaders Liverpool.
