Arsenal's hopes of catching Premier League leaders Liverpool were dealt a blow on Saturday as they drew 2-2 with Aston Villa.
The Gunners were two goals ahead thanks to strikes from Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz, but a quick-fire brace from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins turned the game on its head after the break and leaves Arsenal six points behind Liverpool, who also have a game in hand. .
How the game played out
Martinelli caused a scare for the visitors early on with an acrobatic volley, as did a flurry of Arsenal's early strikes. It took some time for Villa to settle down, but David Raya was quickly called upon to deny Ian Maatsen's powerful shot from close range.
Arsenal did a good job of controlling possession in the first half, but their ongoing struggles to create chances continued as Villa's solid defensive line easily repelled everything sent their way inside the first 30 minutes.
Ten minutes before the interval, Arsenal finally stepped things up. Leandro Trossard's wild cross was headed goalwards by Martinelli, who was allowed to escape in celebration when goal-line technology confirmed that Emiliano Martinez's desperate efforts to clear the ball had failed.
Trossard was the architect for Arsenal's second just after the break. After Matty Cash was set up, his brilliant cross was met by a clever volley from Havertz, which was flicked on by Martinez and into the net in the blink of an eye to give the Gunners some space.
Villa were back in the game soon after. Lucas Digne's delightful cross from deep was met by the onrushing Tielemans, who headed beyond Raya to reignite the game as a contest and the Belgian could easily have tied things up just seconds later when his controlled shot hit the outside of the pillar.
Villa sensed an opening and Watkins took it with 20 minutes to go. Cash redeemed himself with a superb cross of his own to the Villa striker, who smashed a volley off the underside of the crossbar to set up a thrilling finish.
It looked like Arsenal were about to grab a late winner after Mikel Merino had an effort deflected into the back of the net, but a quick VAR check revealed that the ricochet came from Havertz's arm to make it 2-2.
Merino hit the post in stoppage time as Arsenal pushed for the winner they needed to keep pace with Premier League leaders Liverpool, while the electric Trossard sent a shot that curled horribly wide of Martinez's goal, but there was to be none. reward for Arsenal's effort as they slipped six points behind Arne Slot's team.
Watch the player ratings from Arsenal 2-2 Aston Villa here.
When Havertz left to celebrate Arsenal's second goal, it looked done and dusted. The Gunners looked comfortable and don't have a reputation for dropping bullets on their own ground.
It will have to be examined how Arsenal allowed Villa to get back on level terms. The visitors were offering nothing before the hour mark when a series of clever crosses saw them breeze past the Premier League's worst defense with relative ease.
It was against Villa last season that Arsenal's Premier League title hopes were dashed. While it's too early to make such comparisons this time around, there's no denying that it will hurt Arteta.
There was cause for concern when the team sheet came out and William Saliba was nowhere to be seen. The French is battling what Mikel Arteta claims is a minor injuryso it was Jurrien Timber who joined Gabriel at the heart of Arsenal's defence.
Both Gabriel and Timber enjoyed some neat individual moments against Watkins, but as the clock ticked there was a sense of confusion among Arsenal's backline. Two Villa crosses were allowed to go past them as the Gunners gave the visitors a way back into the game.
There was a distinct lack of a composed physical presence like Saliba's, and Arsenal were forced to suffer without their rock at the back.
The loss of Bukayo Saka, followed by Gabriel Jesus' ACL injury, has seen many questions raised about who remains in Arsenal's forward line, with the main line of questioning whether any of those still standing are really capable of inspiring a title challenge.
Trossard clearly took it personally, delivering a brutally impactful performance that saw him torment Matty Cash from start to finish.
The Belgian's mischievous crosses were too much for Villa to deal with and he deservedly left with two impressive assists, and he came inches to win it for his side with a late strike that trickled just wide of the far post of Martinez.