It didn’t take long for the two goalkeepers to be called into action, with both sides showing plenty of intent.
Emiliano Martinez denied Martin Odegaard after Jurrien Timber had roamed forward to dispossess Morgan Rogers, and Ollie Watkins then did brilliantly to work space in
Arsenal’s box but was stopped by an equally impressive David Raya save. Bukayo Saka’s influence soon started to grow, but he saw an ambitious strike saved and sent a header wide, before having a shot blocked by Amadou Onana.
The winger then looked to have been involved in a slick Arsenal opener 22 minutes into proceedings, but he had strayed offside before squaring the ball for Eberechi Eze to convert.
There were still no signs of Villa backing down, and a move started by Boubacar Kamara, showing great awareness, culminated in Declan Rice doing the same to block a venomous Matty Cash strike.
There was no stopping Cash in the 37th minute, though, as Timber’s flick on Pau Torres’ cross diverted the ball into the Villans' right-back’s path and he smashed it through Raya’s legs.
Ben White and Rice’s attempts were routinely saved as the Gunners looked for a quick retort before the break.
Mikel Arteta responded with a double change ahead of the restart, and his side was dominant as they searched for an equaliser.
Leandro Trossard had already seen one shot saved and sent another agonisingly wide before pouncing seven minutes after his introduction, turning the ball home after Martínez had got a hand on Saka’s pass.
Watkins was denied on multiple occasions, and Ian Maatsen blazed his strike off-target as the Villans reacted well to the equaliser.
Odegaard then brought a sensational stop out of Martinez, and Kamara stopped Saka’s attempt from the ensuing corner, as the game continued to be played at an unrelenting intensity while remaining level.
With time running out, Donyell Malen came agonisingly close to picking out the bottom corner before Noni Madueke hit the side netting with the game seemingly destined to end level.
Villa Park erupted with seconds left, though, as the hosts kept the ball alive in Arsenal’s box and Buendia stayed calm amid the chaos to finish and earn Villa’s seventh consecutive win across all competitions to take them second in the Premier League table for now.
They are also just three points behind league leaders Arsenal, whose 18-game unbeaten run across all competitions was brought to a dramatic end.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa)
