Aston Villa moved to within two points of the summit of the Premier League with a narrow win over Arsenal, who missed out on a chance to go top.
Villa took the lead at Villa Park through skipper John McGinn, who brought Leon Bailey’s cross under control before hammering the ball into the net.
Arsenal had a late Kai Havertz effort ruled out for handball by referee Jarred Gillett, with the video assistant referee upholding the call after a lengthy review.
Despite Arsenal pressure, Villa held on to back up their statement victory over champions Manchester City on Wednesday and record a club record 15th straight home league victory.
Defeat will be a blow for title-chasing Arsenal, whose run of six straight wins in all competitions came to an end.
Late VAR drama denies Arsenal
Arsenal started Saturday top of the table, dropping to second after Liverpool’s win over Crystal Palace at lunchtime.
Mikel Arteta’s side’s last defeat had come at Newcastle at the start of November and his team had been enjoying a four-match winning run in the league.
They created plenty of chances at a boisterous Villa Park. Bukayo Saka put a shot wide from close range just before McGinn’s opener and Gabriel Martinelli dinked the ball over Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez but saw his effort hacked off the line by Diego Carlos in the first half.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard had good chances from about 12 yards out either side of the break. The first was saved by Martinez, while the second skidded wide.
The Gunners came close again midway through the second period when a routine corner was spilled by Martinez and deflected off Watkins on to the post before being cleared away with William Saliba lurking.
Saka had the ball in the net in the second half after dribbling around Martinez but had timed his run a fraction too early.
But the real drama was still to come. In stoppage time Havertz brought down a cross and hacked the ball into the Villa net.
The goal was immediately ruled out on the field, but it took a VAR review to confirm Havertz had inadvertently controlled the ball with his hand.
Arsenal would not create another clear chance, slipping to a second league defeat of the season.
