By Emmanuel Olagunju
Aston Villa delivered the biggest shock of the weekend as they stunned Premier League leaders Arsenal with a dramatic 2–1 victory at Villa Park on Saturday, ending the Gunners’ impressive 18-match unbeaten run across all competitions.
Matty Cash opened the scoring in the 36th minute, finishing confidently from Ian Maatsen’s cross after a vibrant start that saw early openings for Ollie Watkins and Bukayo Saka. An injury-hit Arsenal—missing William Saliba, Gabriel and Cristhian Mosquera—struggled for rhythm despite Jurrien Timber’s emergency shift into central defence.
Mikel Arteta’s men roared back after the break. Second-half substitutes Leandro Trossard and Viktor Gyokeres injected energy into the attack, with Trossard sweeping home Saka’s low cross for the equaliser in the 52nd minute—his sixth league goal of the season and the 50th of his Premier League career.
The final minutes were frantic. David Raya denied Watkins on the break, Emiliano Martinez tipped over Martin Ødegaard’s long-range strike, and Donyell Malen went close for Villa. But with seconds left, Emiliano Buendia punished hesitant Arsenal defending, smashing in the winner to seal a memorable victory for Unai Emery’s resurgent side.
In another game , Manchester City recorded a (3-) victory Sunderland, thanks to goals from Ruben Dias, Joško Gvardiol and Phil Foden.
Tottenham Hotspur returned to winning ways with a solid 2–0 victory over Brentford, with Richarlison scoring early and Xavi Simons adding a second before the break.
Everton produced one of their most complete performances of the season, sweeping aside Nottingham Forest 3–0, with Thierno Barry scoring his first goal for the club before Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall added a brace.
At the Vitality Stadium, Chelsea were held to a goalless 0–0 draw by Bournemouth, despite dominating large spells through Alejandro Garnacho, Marc Guiu and Neto. The Blues were repeatedly denied by goalkeeper Petrovic, while Bournemouth created chances of their own through Marcus Tavernier, Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson.
Newcastle United also continued their steady form with a 2–1 win over Burnley, further shaking up the mid-table dynamics.
In Italy, Inter Milan delivered a commanding statement with a 4–0 demolition of Como at San Siro, while Sassuolo impressed with a 3–1 win over Fiorentina, tightening the race for European spots.
Germany witnessed a goal-fest as RB Leipzig thrashed Eintracht Frankfurt 6–0 in one of the day’s standout performances. Augsburg defeated Bayer Leverkusen 2–0, while Cologne held St. Pauli to a 1–1 draw in a tense encounter.
In Spain, Villarreal secured a comfortable 2–0 victory over Getafe, adding pressure to the top-half battle while Barcelona won Real Betis, 5-3 on full time.
Race for the top spots continue as clubs continually proved stuffs made of .
