Arsenal’s aspirations of winning their first Premier League title in two decades were severely undermined by a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa.

Ollie Watkins narrowly missed giving the away team the lead as his shot struck the inside part of the goalpost and spun wide just before the end of the first half.

Within a few moments, the former Arsenal goalkeeper Emi Martinez skillfully prevented Leandro Trossard from scoring at close range with an impressive and extended save, ensuring that the scores remained tied.

In the 84th minute, Villa managed to score the first goal when Leon Bailey successfully converted Lucas Digne’s cross.

Watkins secured the victory shortly after by swiftly advancing through the field and skillfully chipping the ball over David Raya. This not only enhanced their chances of finishing in the top four, but also dealt a significant setback to Arsenal’s pursuit of the title.

This is SunSport’s Jordan Davies’ assessment of the Arsenal players’ performances.

David Raya – 6Ben White – 7Gabriel – 6William Saliba – 8

Solid as a rock and getting even more confident with ball at feet and moving up the pitch.Kept Watkins very quiet. Couldn’t really blame him for Villa’s goals.

Oleksandr Zinchenko – 5

Declan Rice – 7

Martin Odegaard – 8

No shots to concern himself with in the first half, aside from Watkins smacking his right post before agonisingly dribbling back across his goal mouth.

The Spaniard also had no chance of stopping Youri Tielemans’ stunning strike that hit the woodwork twice before being cleared, as well as both late goals.A necessary yellow card to deny Villa a counter attack his only blip in another solid display.Will be vital to their season run-in.Did well to recover on a few occasions but then almost cost his side with a poor ball that struck Oleksandr Zinchenko on the back and put in Watkins to strike Raya’s post.ming off the bench in games like this.As a starter, he drifts in and out of the action far too much.A few nice passes inside but he is still a liability indefence.

Zinchenko gave away the ball on the edge of his own box as Tielemans rattled the bar and the base of the post with a shot.Got turned far too easily and far too often.Looked like he was running through custard at times.He may not be grabbing as many headlines for Arsenal at this stage of the season but his influence is still there for all to see.Just lacked that killer pass.Playing much deeper than usual but continued orchestrating with great

 effect.Odegaard should have had a few assists to his name in the first half alone.Looked fatigued in the closing stages – no surprise that he was subbed with the trip to Munich in a few days.

Kai Havertz – 6

Back in his midfield role and got forward plenty early on, denied by Martinez from a tight angle having darted into the box and fluffed numerous one v ones.

Bukayo Saka – 6

Limped his way through the first period after yet another bruising half of football, but remained lively and curled one just wide in the 41st minute.Barely got a sniff in the second half, such was Villa’s impressive defensive shape.

Gabriel Jesus – 6

Simply had to put Arsenal ahead in the 17th minute with a back post header prodded into the side netting, but his energy dragged Arsenal through a tough opening 45 minutes.Fed off scraps after the break.

Leandro Trossard – 6

One of the misses of the season just before the break inside the six-yard box. Brilliant save from Martinez, but anywhere else and it hits the back of the net.Always seems to be at his best coming off the bench in games like this.As a starter, he drifts in and out of the action far too much.

Takehiro Tomiyasu (for White, 66 mins) – 6

Unsure why White was taken off, as he rarely misses a minute, and Tomiyasu was fairly anonymous.

Gabriel Martinelli (for Trossard, 66 mins) – 6

Provided some zip that Trossard had been missing but Arsenal’s lack of creativity made it almost impossible for him to conjure anything up.

Emile Smith Rowe (for Odegaard, 78 mins) – 6

His only involvement was chasing Watkins back before watching the ball hit the back of the net.