Ten-man Arsenal twice battled back from a goal down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s late free kick securing the points in a thriller at the Emirates on Sunday, reports Reuters.
John McGinn gave Villa a 20th-minute lead and Arsenal’s task became even harder when Ainsley Maitland-Niles was shown a second yellow card 20 minutes later.
However, the hosts equalised on the hour with a Nicolas Pepe penalty only for Villa to lead again through Wesley before Calum Chambers got the Gunners level once more in the 81st minute.
Aubameyang completed an unlikely victory three minutes later as Arsenal became only the ninth team to win a Premier League game having had a man sent off while trailing.
It also extended his hot streak to 16 goals in his last 16 appearances across all competitions.
While victory was a welcome bonus that took Arsenal up to fourth spot, manager Unai Emery said he was disappointed with the way his side had played with 11 men on the pitch.
“When it was 11 v 11 we didn’t control the match how we wanted because we lost a lot of balls,” the Spaniard said.
“For the second half we needed to play first with the head but also with our heart. The team spirit was amazing. We need to continue working and improving things.”