Emiliano Martinez's late own goal proved the turning point as Arsenal came from behind twice to beat Aston Villa 4-2 and boost to their Premier League title hopes.
The Gunners, who were replaced at the summit after losing to Manchester City in midweek, looked to be heading to another underwhelming result at Villa Park before luck went their way in stoppage time.
Ollie Watkins' clinical finish put former Arsenal boss Unai Emery's Villa in charge early on, and although Bukayo Saka soon equalised, the visitors trailed at the break thanks to Philippe Coutinho's sensationally worked team goal.
Oleksandr Zinchenko levelled again and that appeared to be as good as it would get for Arsenal, but Martinez inadvertently put into his own net late on and was then caught up the other end of the pitch as Gabriel Martinelli completed a dramatic turnaround.
Arsenal's limp start provided few clues of the jubilation to come as they were behind inside five minutes.
Matty Cash robbed Zinchenko and released Watkins, who created space with a step-over before lashing across Aaron Ramsdale into the bottom-right corner.
Saka hammered into the roof of the net to level when Ben White's cross was only partially cleared.
But Villa restored their lead in style just past the half-hour mark, Coutinho coolly slotting in from 16 yards after Emiliano Buendia dummied Alex Moreno's cut-back to conclude a brilliant move.
Mikel Arteta's side began to exert more control after the break restored parity again when Zinchenko drilled home with 61 minutes played.
When Martin Odegaard then missed a glorious chance to win it, Arsenal appeared to be heading for a fourth consecutive top-flight game without a win.
But a stoppage-time potshot from Jorginho cracked against the crossbar and ricocheted in off former Arsenal goalkeeper Martinez's head.
Martinez went up for a Villa corner in the hope of making amends, but Arsenal countered, allowing an already-celebrating Martinelli to knock into an empty net.
What does it mean? Arsenal show immense character
Even if they had not ultimately gone on to win, Arsenal would have been due plenty of praise for their attitude here as they twice they came back from a goal down.
In the end, that spirit to keep scrapping away made the win possible, and the victory will surely be a massive boost for their title push after a tricky few weeks.
It looked like Arsenal were going to be four without a win in the Premier League, but they are back at the summit for at least a couple of hours and likely feeling they got what they deserved.
Odegaard a worthy winner
Had his late miss been costly, it would have felt so unjust given the quality of his performance.
Odegaard was sensational here and at the heart of so much of Arsenal's best play. He made seven key passes, including one assist, which is the most by an Arsenal player in a single Premier League game since April 2019.
Martinez antics come back to haunt him
Martinez had been acting up all day. He was routinely time wasting, seemingly trying to wind up Arsenal fans – there was something quite fitting about the late turnaround having him at the centre of it.
Key Opta Facts
- This was Arsenal's 14th Premier League away win against Aston Villa, their joint-best such record against a side in the competition (also 14 against West Ham).
- Arsenal have now conceded the opening goal in four of their last five Premier League games, one more than they did in their first 18 games of the 2022-23 campaign (3).
- Ollie Watkins has scored in each of his last four Premier League games for Aston Villa – it is his longest such run in the top four tiers of English football. Indeed, only Erling Haaland and Marcus Rashford (both 8) have more goals in the competition since the World Cup break than his five.
- Aston Villa’s Philippe Coutinho has now scored five Premier League goals against Arsenal. Against no other opponents does he have more (also five against Manchester City and Southampton).
- Only Erling Haaland (30) and Harry Kane (18) have been involved in more Premier League goals this season than Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (17 – nine goals, eight assists), while it is the second successive season he has reached double figures for goals in all competitions (10), netting 12 in 2021-22.
What's next?
Arsenal go to Leicester City next Saturday, while Aston Villa are at Everton the same day.
'We weren't efficient' - Marquinhos bemoans PSG profligacy after Champions League exit
Marquinhos believes Paris Saint-Germain paid for their profligacy after suffering Champions League semi-final heartbreak against Borussia Dortmund.
Mats Hummels' second-half header from a Julian Brandt corner - the only goal at Parc des Princes - wrapped up a 2-0 aggregate victory for the Bundesliga side, who advanced to their third final and first since 2013.
Meanwhile, PSG's wait to land the elusive European crown goes on, despite a whopping 44 shots across the two legs, while they also struck the woodwork on six occasions - their overall tally of 14 the most recorded by a team during a single campaign.
Indeed, Luis Enrique's side failed to find the net in a home match for the first time since their 0-0 draw with Lorient in their first Ligue 1 match of the season, as their hopes of completing the treble vanished for another year.
"We lacked efficiency," Marquinhos told Canal+. "They scored two goals from corners and a through ball that we had worked on. We had to defend better. These are small details.
"We created chances, a lot more than them. We weren't efficient. They were efficient, they scored two goals and won both matches."
But despite the disappointment, the PSG skipper urged his team-mates to focus on the positives from their run to the semi-finals.
They recovered from a disappointing 4-1 defeat against Newcastle United to finish second behind Dortmund in Group F, before overturning a 4-2 aggregate deficit to deny Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
"There are a lot of things to take away from this competition," Marquinhos added. "At the beginning of the season, no one believed that we would get this far. We've overcome a lot of obstacles, we shouldn't throw everything away now just because we're eliminated.
"You have to remember that it's a new team, with a new coach. There are some positives to bring back for next season. We wanted to go to Wembley for the fans and our families.
"You have to stay calm after the elimination. It's very hard. We've come very close. We had to win tonight and be more efficient."
Al Ahli 1-2 Al Hilal: Malcom saves league leaders' winning streak
Malcom’s stunning solo goal finished Al Hilal’s second-half comeback to earn a 2-1 win over Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Monday.
The forward started his run from inside his own half before slotting in the winner, after teeing up Aleksandr Mitrovic for the equaliser just after the interval.
Feras Al Brikan had given Al Ahli the lead in the 30th minute, but the hosts could not hold onto it against the league leaders.
Al Hilal continue their unbeaten league campaign to a 30th match, moving 12 points clear at the top of the table, while Al Ahli remain in third, now 22 points off the AFC Champions League spot.
Data Debrief
Malcom was one of Al Hilal's most influential players; as well as playing a hand in both goals, he had the joint-most shots (five), and the joint-most shots on target (two), and created two chances for his team.
Al Ahli also struggled to cope with Mitrovic's threat, as the Serbian created an xG of 0.61 from his five shots, having 11 touches in the opposition box.
Emery has no complaints after tired Aston Villa lose late on at Brighton
Unai Emery accepts Aston Villa can have no complaints over their 1-0 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League.
The Villans fell to a narrow defeat at the Amex Stadium on Sunday as Joao Pedro converted late on after his initial penalty attempt was saved.
Villa looked sluggish throughout yet were just minutes away from claiming a point that would have further boosted their top-four prospects.
John McGinn also had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside, but Emery admits his side were not deserving of a point on their travels.
"We competed but it was not enough," he told BBC Sport. "We weren't strong enough in 90 minutes to deserve anything more than we achieved.
"Now the most important thing is to rest, to rest today, rest tomorrow, after the match.
"We are having an amazing season, brilliant, but of course we are at the last chance and we have to try and give everything."
Villa remain seven points clear of fifth-place Tottenham, albeit having played a game more, after Spurs' 4-2 loss at Liverpool.
Before focus can turn to the Villans' home match with Liverpool in a week's time, they first travel to Olympiacos for their Europa Conference League semi-final second leg.
Emery's men have a major task on their hands if they are to reach the final as they trail 4-2 from last week's first leg at Villa Park.
"We want to put in a good effort on Thursday [against Olympiakos] and on Monday against Liverpool. Now is time to rest," Emery added.
"We had a lot of players injured and they are recovering. The most important thing is to get players back for balance and to be competitive."
Victory for Brighton was much needed after going six without a win in the Premier League, failing to score in four of those matches.
While Roberto De Zerbi was pleased to get back to winning ways, he accepts Brighton were given a helping hand by Villa's quick turnaround in games.
"To be honest, Villa were not themselves, maybe a little tired," he said. "They are playing in the Europa Conference League and they have a lot of injuries.
"I am proud because we played a great game against one of the best teams in the Premier League. Playing against Unai Emery's teams is very tough.
"We played well, we deserved to win and we could have scored more goals. I think Robin Olsen was the best player for Villa."
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