John McGinn‘s early goal led surging Aston Villa to a club-record 15th consecutive home Premier League victory on Saturday, a breathless 1-0 win over Arsenal that prevented Mikel Arteta’s Gunners from reclaiming top spot in the table.
Unai Emery’s Villa, who shocked champions Manchester City in a dominant 1-0 win on Wednesday, are now third on 35 points after 16 games in a jam-packed title race, while Arsenal, who were overtaken by Liverpool earlier on Saturday, are second with 36.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
McGinn got Villa Park rocking in the seventh minute after Leon Bailey sprinted down the right wing before cutting back the ball and picking out McGinn. Villa’s captain took one touch, turned sharply and fired past keeper David Raya.
Arsenal thought they had equalised in added time before VAR determined Kai Havertz had handled the ball while firing it past keeper Emi Martinez from a goalmouth scramble.
Arteta, whose north London team arrived on the heels of four successive wins, was relegated to the directors’ box for the game while he served a one-game ban after picking up his third red card of the season.