A win for Liverpool earlier in the day meant that they would be second for the time being, but with the chance to leapfrog them once more. Villa were hardly an easy matchup though, sitting just behind the Gunners in third after overtaking Manchester City with a win in midweek.
That challenge was displayed early on as Leon Bailey's winding run on the right saw him pull the ball back for John McGinn, who swiveled and scored with the following shot. Arsenal had their chances, but they came and went until the final few minutes offered some hope of a point.
A scramble in front of the goal saw the ball land for Eddie Nketiah, with the striker prodding home what seemed like an equaliser for the visitors. It wasn't to be though, as VAR checked the finish and adjudged Kai Havertz to have handled the ball on the way to the goal.
It meant a second defeat of the league season for the Gunners, where a second-placed finish at the end of the weekend will have to make do. It has blown the title race wide open, with Manchester City still to play against Luton, but with Aston Villa now firmly among the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool at the top.
It led to Arteta being questioned on state of the title race and whether Villa could be amongst those in the conversation for this season. He told reporters: "Anybody that can win lots of games in a row. It will be in the hands of all us to merit to win every single week to be up there. Certainly they are right now."
With 16 games down, there's still plenty of football to be played before there's any sort of conclusion to the Premier League title race this season. However, one thing that's certain is nothing can be taken for granted and the table can change within a couple of weeks without noticing.
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