What Emi Martinez did after Arsenal draw as Ollie Watkins responds to lazy critics
Aston Villa got out of Arsenal with a valuable point after coming back from two goals behind and drawing 2-2.
Arsenal started the match on top, but didn't really threaten Emi Martinez up until Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring in the 35th minute. And he scored after a mistake from Ian Maatsen, who didn't know where the Arsenal winger was before he turned in Leandro Trossard's cross.
The Belgian was on hand to provide another assist early in the second half as Kai Havertz converted from close range, but Youri Tielemans halved Villa's deficit soon after. Ollie Watkins then equalised in the 68th minute before VAR denied Arsenal a late winner as Mikel Merino's shot deflected in off Havertz's arm.
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Here are the talking points from Villa's draw with Arsenal...
Emery: This is the mentality we want
After drawing 2-2 with Arsenal, Villa have avoided defeat in a Premier League away game in which they trailed by two or more goals for the first time since November 2013 - which was a 2-2 draw at West Brom - ending a run of 52 straight defeats in that situation.
They showed character to get back in the game so soon after falling 2-0 behind. At the point in which Havertz doubled Arsenal's lead, many would have expected Villa to give up hope of leaving with a result.
But a swift reply from Tielemans struck fear into Arsenal, who nearly blew a lead in the space of a few minutes after the Villa midfielder struck the post moments after his goal. As it turned out, Watkins restored parity for Villa soon enough by finishing past Raya having been picked out by a searching cross from Matty Cash.
"Fantastic," was how Emery summed the result up with Sky Sports. "Brilliant how the players reacted after the two goals - it was fantastic. In our mentality, we never give up and today we never give up and we tried to score. Arsenal were pushing and creating some chances, but even with that we have another.
"The second half we reacted well. The mentality we showed is the mentality we want. We needed the goalkeeper, the defenders. We were always trying some transitions. Fantastic job. Now we are in good balance. We are fighting with really strong teams. How we started the second part of the season has been good.
"Arsenal are very powerful at home. This is the level we want to be close to, but we still have work to do as they're very strong. To complete like we did is the only way to get something here."
Watkins proving doubters wrong again
Watkins has now scored six Premier League goals against Arsenal, with four of those coming at the Emirates Stadium. Since joining Villa ahead of the 2020-21 season, no visiting player has scored more away goals against the Gunners than Watkins.
He has now hit double figures for league goals for the fifth successive campaign, which speaks volumes of his remarkable consistency at Villa since joining from Brentford in the summer of 2021.
Watkins is also rapidly closing in on Villa's Premier League goalscoring record, currently held by Gabby Agbonlahor, who tops the list at 74 goals. Now at 69 goals after scoring at Arsenal, Watkins will be backing himself to smash the record in the coming weeks.
The 29-year-old often scores goals in flurries, but is that such a bad thing when you have another top striker in your ranks in Jhon Duran? How Emery manages the duo is crucial, but while he has scored in successive league games and three in his last four, Watkins has responded to his critics again this season.
Before facing Arsenal, he had missed a league-high 19 of his 27 big chances this season, but it's far too lazy to watch Watkins fail to find the net and write him off. There's so much more to his game than simply getting on the end of things. If you want to compare his output to the last campaign - when he bagged a career top-flight best of 19 goals - he also scored 10 after 22 league appearances.
Duran has been in fine form this term, but Watkins guarantees goals too and his all-round game is excellent. There's healthy competition between the two forwards.
Speaking to Sky Sports after drawing with Arsenal, Watkins said: "We got the goal, Lucas put in an unbelievable ball and Youri Tielemans scored, then we went up the pitch and hit the post so we got a lot of momentum from that and we had a bit of faith whenever we went forward that they were quite open.
“We knew they went man to man. Gabriel came to me and Partey was with Jacob [Ramsey]. There was chances there to be taken as they're always a little bit open. When I got my goal I felt we had enough time to push on and get a goal, but it was about being brave and making more passes. First half we went direct - Gabriel is a strong guy, so it is hard to hold the ball up against him."
Asked about Villa's recent form, Watkins said: "We had a bad run before and we didn't win in eight games. But then we win a couple and we are back in it. You can see how close the league is."
Tielemans becoming a leader on the pitch
As Watkins said, it was Tielemans' goal which gave Villa the belief they needed to get something out of the game. Starting all 22 of Villa's league matches and six Champions League games too, Tielemans has taken on more responsibility this season.
With his experience and the amount of games he has racked up in his career, the 27-year-old is also proving to be a leader on the pitch. A classy operator in the middle of the park and when supporting the striker, Tielemans once more played a key role in an important result for the club this season.
"From our point of view [a good result] is always deserved," he told BBC Sport. "We take the point and move forward. They had many chances but we defended with our bodies on the line. 2-2 is a good result for us.
“First half we had a couple of counters, misplaced passes from me which could have put Ollie Watkins in. We came back really well into the game. The [first] goal gave us freedom and belief. It's not an easy task. They were on top of us for 60 minutes.”
"We have had some bad results away from home. We just need that consistency away from home because we're doing well at Villa Park. It gives us a massive boost of confidence for the rest of the season."
Martinez laps up away end celebrations
Emi Martinez came up with some big saves at the end of the game to ensure Villa left the Emirates with a point. Booed throughout by his former fans once again, Martinez was loving the result after full-time.
He lapped up the scenes in the away end and celebrated with them like Onana would by giving a few fist pumps. Before turning around to head towards the tunnel at the other end of the pitch, Martinez held his arms aloft like a champion. Well, he is the world's number one.
"A big point away from home against a solid team," Martinez posted on X. "We battled until the end! #UTV."
Bogarde stepped up for Emery
Amadou Onana suffered a suspected hamstring injury in the first half and was replaced after Villa fell behind through Martinelli.
It was a big vote of confidence in Lamare Bogarde from Emery that he picked the 21-year-old to come into the game instead of bringing Tielemans back into the double pivot instead.
Bogarde played his part in the draw despite rarely playing in midfield under Emery until now. He has predominantly been used as a right-back or a centre-back, but operated mostly in midfield while out on loan at Bristol Rovers.
Bogarde sprayed the ball out to Digne, who then put in the cross which led to Tielemans' goal, while he also defended with Kamara well in midfield in front of Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings.
It was a solid showing from Bogarde, whose name will now be in the frame to start against AS Monaco on Tuesday night.
Villa had a stronger bench than Arsenal
Donyell Malen didn't get on to make his debut at the club he used to play for, but he formed part of a seriously strong looking bench - at least in terms of attacking options. In fact, Emery had better options to call on than Mikel Arteta.
Duran was also in reserve for Villa and he came on later in the second half but didn't get a chance to score. Leon Bailey also came on, while Digne impressed off the bench after the break and grabbed an assist.
Emi Buendia played his part in wins over Leicester City and West Ham, but could depart this month after Emery admitted he needs to play regularly to regain his confidence and form.
