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.
Sessegnon rejoins boyhood club Fulham after Tottenham departure
Ryan Sessegnon has resigned for Fulham on a free transfer, five years after leaving the club.
The 24-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Cottagers with the option to extend for a further year following his departure from Tottenham last month.
In his first spell at the club, Sessegnon worked his way through the academy over 11 years, scoring 25 goals in 120 first-team appearances.
He then moved to Spurs in a £25million deal in 2019, though struggled to nail down a place in North London, making just 57 appearances in all competitions, and scoring three goals.
"It's amazing to be back. Emotional, as well," he told FFCtv. "It's where it started for me, where everything began, and it's amazing to be back.
"It will always be home for me. I think it had the feeling that it was meant to be, coming back here, so I'm delighted to get it done."
Sessegnon is Fulham's first signing of the transfer window, though they have seen plenty of first-team departures already, with Joao Palhinha, Tosin Adarabioyo and Bobby De Cordova-Reid all leaving the club.
Lindstrom joins Everton on loan from Napoli
Everton have completed the loan signing of Jesper Lindstrom from Napoli, the club confirmed on Friday.
Lindstrom will join the Toffees for the 2024-25 season with the deal including an option to make the move permanent at the end of the campaign.
The 24-year-old becomes the fourth addition at Goodison Park following the arrivals of Tim Iroegbunam, Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Harrison.
Lindstrom arrives after a difficult season with Napoli, playing just 416 minutes in 22 league appearances for the Serie A side.
The Denmark international arrived in Naples from Eintracht Frankfurt where he scored 14 goals in 80 appearances, helping the German side lift the Europa League in the 2021-22 season.
“I feel very good. It’s amazing to represent Everton," Lindstrom said in his first interview with the club.
"This is a big club, with big history, a good stadium and, as I’ve seen, very good facilities as well. I’m very, very happy to be here and I feel like this is a good fit.
“I actually heard of Everton’s interest a while ago – not only from now but previously. England is very similar to Denmark so I will feel at home quickly.
“I’ve spoken to the manager. It sounds as though he likes the way I play football and I can be a good fit for the team with my speed, so now I want to deliver."
The search for another attacking option out wide had been the priority at Everton, having seen Arnaut Danjuma return to Villarreal following the completion of his loan deal, and the sale of Lewis Dobbin to Aston Villa.
Everton managed 40 goals last season, the second worst in the Premier League ahead of Sheffield United (35), and Dyche believes Lindstrom has a lot to offer in the final third.
"Jesper is a player with very good ability who can operate in a number of different attacking roles, which will benefit us heading into the new season," said Dyche.
"He joins us with a range of different experiences. He is hungry and eager to succeed with us, and that's a strong starting point as we look to add more productivity to our attack."
Maguire labels England criticism 'ridiculous' following Euro 2024 display
Harry Maguire has defended his England team-mates after their performance at Euro 2024, labelling the criticism as "a bit ridiculous".
England reached back-to-back European Championship finals but suffered the same outcome in Berlin as they did at Wembley three years ago.
The defeat against Spain saw Gareth Southgate become the first head coach in the history of the tournament to end up on the losing side in two finals.
Southgate called time on his eight-year tenure in charge of the Three Lions two days after the tournament ended, winning 59.8% of his 102 games in charge.
Despite this, underwhelming performances in Germany saw cups thrown towards the former England head coach as supporters jeered the players.
Southgate came under fire for his defensive approach, though only Walter Winterbottom (383) and Alf Ramsey (224) have overseen more England goals than his 213.
However, Maguire has come to the defence of his team-mates.
“Yes, performances might not have been amazing but it is tournament football," Maguire told BBC Sport.
"It is not as expansive. There are far less risks taken. You can’t afford to make mistakes or get caught going out in a full press. You saw throughout the tournament there were not many high-scoring wins.
“I just don’t know what the media or fans expected of this team. Was it to go and beat Serbia 4-0 in the first game and then beat Denmark 3-0? Did they think it was just going to be a walk in the park?”
Under Southgate's stewardship, England reached more major tournament finals in four attempts (two) than they did in their first 23 appearances at the World Cup and Euros (one).
Maguire played 63 times during Southgate's time in charge, a total only bettered by Harry Kane (81), Kyle Walker (70), Jordan Pickford and John Stones (both 68).
Maguire was forced to miss the tournament having picked up an injury in May, forcing him to miss Manchester United's FA Cup success against Manchester City.
Euro 2024 was the first major tournament he has missed during his international career, having become a mainstay in central defence alongside Stones.
Maguire's 17 appearances at major tournaments saw him keep seven clean sheets, but he insisted that missing out on Euro 2024 was difficult for him to comprehend.
"To miss out was tough," said Maguire.
“It has been really frustrating, working all season to get myself mentally and physically at the top of my game and be in a position to feel I could really make a difference for Manchester United and my country."
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