On Sunday, Mikel Arteta’s team let two late goals slip by, denying them the chance to take over top place in the Premier League.After Crystal Palace stunned Liverpool on Sunday, Arsenal grabbed a commanding lead in the Premier League title race. Under the lights, Mikel Arteta’s team retreated, and Aston Villa took advantage of a dreadful closing ten minutes to win all three points and go into first place in the league.The Gunners’ 2-0 defeat will be exacerbated by the fact that they dominated the first half. Nonetheless, they came perilously close to handing Villa the lead in the closing seconds of the first half. Ollie Watkins, an England international, had a chance to score but struck the post following an odd pass from Gabriel Magalhaes.Not long after, Arsenal had their best chance of the first half, when Leandro Trossard took a close-range shot that Emiliano Martinez miraculously saved with his feet.A combination of Youri Tielemans’ stinging drive from outside the area that hit the crossbar and post, as well as Arsenal’s inability to recreate their first-half intensity, added to the increasing tension in the Emirates Stadium after the break. In the end, they paid the price: first, Leon Bailey scored at the back post after David Raya’s mistake gave him too much time to aim; second, when attempting to score a winner, Watkins was freed and lobbed the injured Spaniard.With a two-point lead over their two title rivals into the final six games of the season, Manchester City will be salivating at the outcome. Nonetheless, Arsenal must rapidly rebound from their defeat before facing Bayern Munich in Wednesday’s Champions League clash.GOAL evaluates Arsenal’s team at a sluggish Emirates Stadium.

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Goalkeeper & Defence

David Raya (4/10):

Horrible, horrible mix up gifted Bailey Villa’s first. Got lobbed too. He’d been fine up to that point, but that will all be forgotten now.

Ben White (7/10):

Presented with Arsenal’s March Player of the Month before the game and followed up with another excellent display. He so rarely makes a misstep.

Gabriel Magalhaes (5/10):

Complete brain fart nearly cost his team a goal in the first half. Did not look comfortable throughout.

William Saliba (5/10):

Made a couple of seriously important interventions early on, but hardly covered himself in glory for the first goal.

Oleksandr Zinchenko (5/10):

Caught in some strange areas which allowed Villa to counter. Overcomplicated things on the ball at times.

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Midfield

Declan Rice (6/10):

Returned to a more withdrawn midfield role and looked good. Will be interesting to see if he remains there for the second leg against Bayern.

Martin Odegaard (7/10):

Genuinely unplayable in the first half; Villa just couldn’t get near him. Faded thereafter.

Kai Havertz (6/10):

Timed some of the his runs to perfection and performed his out-of-possession duties diligently. Did lack a little conviction in the final third.

 

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Attack

Bukayo Saka (6/10):

He caused Villa all sorts of difficulties with his direct runs and erratic dribbling. With a few attempts, I was able to come near.

Gabriel Jesus (4/10):

He disagreed with his fellow attackers on occasion. Offside occurs way too frequently as well. He should be a more deadly threat in games like this, despite his superb off-ball performance.

Leandro Trossard (4/10):

Just before halftime, I needed to make a close-range conversion. He had a few decent looks and applied steady pressure, but he squandered a wonderful opportunity to score again with Bayern on the way.

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Subs & Manager

Takehiro Tomiyasu (6/10):

Solid, as you might expect. He may be tasked with marking Sane on Wednesday night.

Gabriel Martinelli (5/10):

Quite a quiet cameo again.

Jorginho (4/10):

Gave the ball away cheaply in the build up to Villa’s second.

Emile Smith Rowe (4/10):

Rinsed by Watkins as he raced away to score.

Eddie Nketiah (N/A):

Not on for long at all.

Mikel Arteta (4/10):

The Spaniard was upset because Arsenal’s finishing problems reappeared in the opening half. Also, errors are occurring at an alarming pace. Before Wednesday’s game, he needs to try to get his bearings.