ASTON Villa defeated Arsenal 1-0 tonight to maintain their third spot in the English Premier League table, one point behind the Gunners, and make club history.
The victory is the 15th straight home win for Aston Villa the in English Premier League, which is the longest such run in their 149-year history.
Captain John McGinn scored the only goal of the match just seven minutes into the game to add to another big win after their 1-0 victory champions Manchester City in midweek.
In a match surprisingly low on quality, Arsenal had few chances to equalise and felt they had pulled level in added time.
Kai Havertz bundled the ball home but the referee disallowed the goal for offside and the decision was backed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) after replays showed there was handball.
Villa boss Unai Emery, who used to coach Arsenal, became the fifth manager to win 15 consecutive Premier League home games in charge of a club, with the other four having all won the title (Sir Alex Ferguson, Roberto Mancini, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola).
Arsenal dropped to second spot after the defeat, one point behind leaders Liverpool, who defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park earlier today.
Also earlier in the day, Manchester United were brought back down to earth after the midweek win over Chelsea as they were beaten 3-0 at Old Trafford by Bournemouth.
Two players with Nigerian heritage, Dominic Solanke and Phillip Billing, scored for Bournemouth as, for the first time ever, Manchester United lost a Premier League game at Old Trafford by three or more goals against a team starting the day in the bottom half of the table.
It is also Bournemouth’s first-ever victory at Old Trafford.
Also in the earlier fixtures today, Super Eagles midfielder Frank Onyeka lasted for just 45 minutes and received a yellow card as his side Brentford were beaten 1-0 by Sheffield United and Burnley drew 1-1 at Brighton.
Super Eagles full-back Ola Aina was an unused substitute as Nottingham Forest ended a dismal run with a 1-1 draw at Wolves.
