John McGinn’s early goal propelled Aston Villa to a thrilling 1-0 victory over Arsenal on Saturday, setting a club record for the 15th straight home Premier League victory. The victory kept Mikel Arteta’s Gunners from taking back top place in the standings.

After 16 games in a fiercely competitive title fight, Unai Emery’s Villa, who stunned champions Manchester City with a commanding 1-0 victory on Wednesday, are now third with 35 points, while Arsenal, who were passed by Liverpool earlier on Saturday, are in second place with 36.

Seven minutes in, Leon Bailey raced down the right flank, cut back the ball, and found McGinn, setting up a wild celebration at Villa Park. The captain of Villa took one touch, spun quickly, and shot past goalie David Raya.

Before VAR concluded that Kai Havertz handled the ball while sending it past goalie Emi Martinez during a goalmouth scramble, Arsenal believed they had levelled in added time.

After receiving his third red card of the season, Arteta, whose North London club had just finished four games in a row, was sent to the directors’ box for the duration of the match and received a one-game suspension.

Reuters