Aston Villa played hosts to Arsenal in the Premier League at Villa Park on Monday night.
Villa were looking to push away from the relegation zone and bounce back from their elimination in the FA Cup, while the Gunners would move back to the top of the table with a win on the road.
Despite a tense final 15 minutes, Arsenal moved back to the head of the division with a narrow win.
Read how the match unfolded in our live commentary below.
7.03mGood evening and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of Premier League action as Aston Villa host Arsenal at Villa Park.
7.07pmWe have a cracking game on our hands tonight pitting two sides with different agendas against one another. Villa are desperate to avoid getting sucked further into a relegation battle, as they sit just five points clear of the drop zone. On the other hand, Arsenal can move back above Chelsea and Manchester City to the top of the Premier League should they emerge victorious here tonight.
7.09pmArsenal have the best record on the road in the division, while Villa have the second to worst record on home turf, losing to Sheffield United of League One in the FA Cup the last time they took to Villa Park. Despite all of this, Villa caused one of the shocks of the season in this reverse fixture, beating Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates on the opening day. Never say never.
7.11pmRight, before we go any further, let's get the team news. Starting with the hosts.
7.12pmVILLA XI: Guzan, Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Baker, Luna, El Ahmadi, Westwood, Delph, Agbonlahor, Benteke
7.15pmPaul Lambert has made four chances to the Villa team that lost in the FA Cup last weekend.
7.18pmJed Steer, Leandro Bacuna, Andreas Weimann and Marc Albrighton all drop out of the team. Brad Guzan, Ron Vlaar, Karim El Ahmadi and Gabriel Agbonlahor are recalled into the side.
7.19pmVlaar and Baker recover from calf and hamstring injuries in time for the match. Guzan and Agbonlahor have overcome minor injuries, while Ciaran Clark is back from suspension.
7.19pmAnd here is the bench.
7.20pmVILLA BENCH: Steer, Sylla, Bacuna, Tonev, Helenius, Weimann, Albrighton
7.20pmSo that's what Lambert has to offer. Let's take a gander at the Arsenal squad.
7.21pmARSENAL XI: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Wilshere, Flamini, Cazorla, Ozil, Gnabry, Giroud
7.22pmArsene Wenger makes five alterations to the Arsenal side that dumped North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur out of the FA Cup last time out.
7.23pmLukasz Fabianski, Thomas Vermaelen, Mikel Arteta, Tomas Rosicky, Theo Walcott all drop out of the team, with the latter's season being brought to an end after picking up an ACL injury against Spurs. Vermaelen misses out after being unable to shake off a knee problem.
7.25pmWojciech Szczesny, Per Mertesacker, Mathieu Flamini, Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud all come into the team. Giroud returns after a spate of injury and illness.
7.26pmSo, that's the first team, time for the substitutes.
7.26pmARSENAL BENCH: Fabianski, Jenkinson, Gibbs, Rosicky, Podolski, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ju-Young Park
7.28pmNicklas Bendtner is still out with an ankle issue, but the good news for Wenger and Arsenal fans is that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is back on the bench having been out of action since the last time these two teams met in August.
7.32pmSo that's the two teams for today. Kick off is less than 30 minutes away.
7.40pmThe statistics don't make pleasant reading for Villa, who haven't beaten Arsenal at home in 14 attempts since the time they came from two goals down to win 3-2 in December 1998. They've lost half our their meeting at Villa Park since. Arsenal have lost only three of their subsequent 30 league meetings with Villa, although the most recent of those came earlier this season. Villa have not done the double over Arsenal since the inaugural Premier League campaign of 1992-93.
7.47pmVilla ended a five-match winless run in the Premier League with their New Year's Day victory at Sunderland the last time they took to this competition, but have lost half of their last 48 league matches at Villa Park, earning just 46 points in that period (W11, D13, L24). Villa's record of eight points at Villa Park is their worst tally after 10 home games of a top-flight season.
7.49pmOne thing Villa have lacked this season is goal, and Lambert's side have failed to hit the back of the net in five of their last seven league outings at Villa park. They have only scored seven goals at home, the lowest in the division. Christian Benteke, who scored twice against Arsenal in August, has not scored for 11 Premier League matches, which equates to a total of 13 hours and 29 minutes since his last goal, which came against Newcastle in September.
7.51pmMeanwhile, Arsenal won the most away points (41) in the Premier League in 2013, with their current points tally of 45 from 20 matches their highest at this stage of a season since 2007-08. No team has scored the first goal in more Premier League games this season than Arsenal, who have done so on 15 occasions. Conversely, no side has scored the first goal on fewer occasions this season than Aston Villa (5).
7.52pmOne stat that isn't too appealing for Arsenal fans is that Wenger's side have won just two of their last nine Premier League matches in January (W2, D2, L5). However, with Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny as a 90-minute centre-back partnership, the Gunners haven't lost in two years; an incredible record.
7.53pmBoth sides have finished their warm-ups and returned to the changing rooms. It won't be long before we see them again. Kick off is in seven minutes.
7.56pmThe teams are in the tunnel, Villa are sporting white tracksuit top. Ron Vlaar and Per Mertesacker are the two captains today, and they lead their teams out onto the field along with referee Neil Swarbrick.
7.56pmGreat reception for the two sides as they come out onto the Villa Park pitch, the Arsenal fans are in superb voice already.
7.58pmAston Villa, sporting a 5-3-2 formation (or a Christmas Tree for you traditionalists), wearing their claret and blue home kit including white shorts and and blue socks. Arsenal, who are going with a 4-3-3, are in their yellow away strip, with blue shorts and hooped socks.
1 minKICKOFF! Villa, playing from left to right, get the match underway.
2 minYELLOW CARD: Well that didn't take long. El Ahmadi is cautioned for leading with his elbow when going into a challenge against Jack Wilshere. He'll walk a tightrope now for the next 89 minutes.
3 minBaker skews a clearance behind, and Arsenal have a corner.
4 minCorner comes in from the left and falls to Gnabry, but his touch is poor on the edge of the box and Villa clear. Big night for Gnabry, with the 18-year-old being tipped as one of the stars of the future. He's certainly impressed so far this season.
5 minCHANCE! First opportunity for Arsenal, and Giroud should score. He found the back of the net with his head the last time he played at Newcastle, and should have done the same here. Sagna puts a wonderful curling cross in from the right to the edge of the six-yard area. The striker is under pressure from the Villa defenders, but his header skims wide of the far post.
7 minIt's been all Arsenal in the opening stages.
8 minGiroud is livid here and wants a penalty. Cazorla switches the play to to Sagna, who whips another superb cross in towards Giroud. The striker is arriving at the near post, pretty much wearing the tugging Vlaar as a jumper, but he cannot get a touch on the delivery. The referee gives nothing but a Villa goal kick.
10 minVilla are doing well to contain Arsenal at the moment, and are not seeing much of the ball.
13 minWIDE! It's a chance for Villa, as the ball finds Delph on the edge of the box. There are a number of bodies between him and goal, but he drags a powerful low shot wide of the near post. Good opportunity that for Delph, who isn't known for his goals.
14 minArsenal come forward down the right, and Ozil wins a corner.
14 minThe Gunners take it short and give it to Gnabry on the edge of the box. He hammers a shot towards goal, which catches the charging Baker in the face. He is left sprawled on the deck, and the referee halts play.
17 minBaker is still down, and really seems out for the count. Lambert looks concerned on the touchline as the stretcher comes out.
21 minVILLA CHANGE: Baker sadly can't continue and is carried off on a stretcher. Bacuna is the man to take his place.
22 minCHANCE! Arsenal don't pick up El Ahmadi, who creeps into the box late on to side-foot a cross from the left over the bar. Szczesny looked comfortable there.
23 minWorth noting that both sets of fans applauded Baker off. Let's hope he is ok. Expect a lengthy amount of added time at the end of this first half.
25 minVilla having a little surge of momentum here, and Arsenal panic as Agbonlahor gets beyond Koscielny. However, the Frenchman can recover and clear the danger.
27 minArsenal are now starting to get a hold of possession again, but they're being fiercely pressed by Villa. The tempo has just lifted at Villa Park.
29 minArsenal are awarded a free kick on the left, which Cazorla curls into the far post. Koscielny an Giroud are both ready to pounce on the chance, but Guzan can clear with a strong punch before Villa win a free kick.
30 minVilla have seemingly switch to a 4-4-2 formation following the injury to Baker.
32 minYELLOW CARD: Agbonlahor's pace is causing the Arsenal backline a number of problems. He peels away from Monreal, who is forced to bring him down.
33 minThe free kick is floated in from the right, but Villa have a man offside.
34 minGOAL! Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal (Jack Wilshere)
35 minGOAL! Aston Villa 0-2 Arsenal (Olivier Giroud)
35 minWow, all of a sudden, Arsenal have taken complete control of this match with two goals in as many minutes. For the first goal, Ozil slides a neat pass to Monreal on the left edge of the box, who pulls the ball back to Wilshere on the edge of the box. Wilshere then takes a touch before shooting low into the bottom far corner. Within what seemed moments, Wilshere then picked up the ball from the right before crossing into Giroud in the penalty area. The Frenchman's touches are exquisite, the first one moving the ball away from his marker, before he finishes in the same corner. Apologies if you blinked.
38 minAmazingly, that second Arsenal goal came just 17 seconds from the restart. Arsenal aren't hanging around.
39 minNeedless to say, those two goals seem to have stunned Aston Villa. Arsenal have pretty much had the ball ever since.
41 minBenteke, who could really do with a goal, tries to beat Mertesacker but the German stands firm, wins the ball and leaves the striker sat down on the turf. Superb defending.
43 minAgain, it's all Arsenal, and their fans are loving it.
44 minSagna's low cross is put behind, and Arsenal have a corner.
45 minThe corner comes to nothing, but Arsenal are still flirting with goal on the edge of the box. They're playing like the home side.
45 minThere will be eight minutes of added time, mainly due to that Baker injury.
45+1 minThe word on Baker is that he has a mild concussion. He was supposedly unconscious for about a minute or so, but is now ok.
45+3 minVilla are having a nice little spell of possession in attack as they try to find a goal. If they could get one back before the break, that would be a huge lift.
45+4 minCazorla feels a bit hard done by as Bacuna pulls him to the ground before winning a corner. Chance for Villa.
45+5 minArsenal hold out, and break downfield.
45+6 minVilla counter through Delph, who has nowhere to go. He pulls of about seven stepovers as Arsenal back off, before Giroud says enough is enough and wins the ball back. No support there for Delph.
45+8 minHALF TIME: Aston Villa 0-2 Arsenal
8.58pmThey took a while to get going, but Arsenal are well and truly in control at the break. Jack Wilshere scored the first, before assistant Olivier Giroud for the second just 17 seconds after the restart. A long way back for Villa now.
9pmVilla were looking pretty decent before they lost Nathan Baker through injury, then it changed and Arsenal moved into the ascendancy. Wilshere has been superb so far, while Agbonlahor is causing Arsenal one or two problems.
9.02pmArsenal had over 70% of possession in that first half, but the next goal is so crucial. If Arsenal get it, then they could go on to really batter Villa. If the home team get it, then it is game on.
9.08pmThe teams are back out at Villa Park.
46 minKICKOFF! Arsenal, playing to the right, get the second half up and running.
46 minVilla win an early corner, which ends up with El Ahmadi blasting a volley out for a throw. Arsene Wenger emerges from the tunnel having missed that whole passage of play and still struggling to zip up that incredible coat of his. It's more of a two-man tent than a jacket.
48 minIt's far from over yet though this game. As I said in the build-up, Arsenal led here 2-0 at the break in December 1998, before Villa rallied to win 3-2. Wenger certainly won't have forgotten that.
49 minCHANCE! Nice moment for Villa as they get a shot on goal. Szczesny is forced to make his first save as Bacuna, who has been good since coming on, hits a low shot straight at him from the edge of the box after a flowing move.
51 minVilla have been pretty decent since the break. Arsenal are yet to really get going, and haven't had a chance.
52 minFree kick for Villa from over 30 yards out, central.
53 minBacuna creeps up to the ball, before blasting it into the wall and Arsenal clear. The ball is floated back in by the home side towards Benteke, who goes down when tussling with Koscielny. He and the Villa fans want a penalty, but the referee is having none of it.
54 minSix of one and half a dozen of the other is an apt phrase for that moment of wrestling between Benteke and Koscielny.
55 minGiroud finds the back of the net with a superb finish, but unfortunately for him, he was flagged offside.
57 minMonreal runs onto a pass forward and cuts inside from the left and into the box. He prepares to strike at goal, but Vlaar comes in from out of nowhere and makes a strong, but fair, challenge. Monreal is down in pain from the impact.
59 minThe game is restating with a drop ball, which Wilshere kicks back to Guzan. Monreal has since returned to the field.
60 minSAVE!Arsenal are starting to pass the ball about a bit more now, bt Villa are still pressing heavily. The ball is worked to Cazorla on the left of the box, who hits a low, bouncing shot towards the far corner, but Guzan can makes a tidy save.
64 minBit of a quiet spell at the moment. The teams are exchanging possession, but neither have stumped up a chance in the past few minutes.
65 minSAVE! Westwood unleashes a long-range hit at goal, which Szczesny makes look easy. He anticipated the journey of the shot, and sidestepped to his right to make an easy catch.
66 minARSENAL CHANGE: First alteration of the match from Wenger, who isn't taking any chances with Monreal. Not sure if he is injured or not, but he is replaced by the returning Kieran Gibbs, who is back from a calf problem.
69 minARSENAL CHANGE: Tomas Rosicky, who scored a brilliant second goal for Arsenal against Spurs in the FA Cup, is on in place of Serge Gnabry, who picks up some more vital experience.
69 minVilla have a free kick on the left which Westwood tries to drop in to the far post. It's not deep enough however, and Arsenal clear through Koscielny.
70 minArsenal haven't really clicked in this second half, and seem pretty content to just sit back and defend at the moment. Villa enjoying more the ball.
72 minThe Arsenal fans are in fine voice at Villa Park, as they urge their side to go in search of a third goal that would totally kill the game off.
73 minCHANCE! That's better from Arsenal, but it's a tricky effort from Giroud. Wilshere plays a wonderful ball round the back of the Villa defence for Gibbs to run onto. He has time on the ball before pulling it back to the Frenchman. Giroud meets it first time with a side-foot effort, but it curls comfortably wide of the near post.
74 minVILLA CHANGE: Andreas Weimann is on for El Ahmadi.
74 minCHANCE! First we've really seen of Benteke tonight, as he wrestles with the Arsenal defenders in the box before pulling off an acrobatic shot which moves just wide of the far post.
76 minGOAL! Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal (Christian Benteke)
76 minNow then, could this be the start of something. Arsenal have been punished for taken their foot off the accelerator and Benteke finally ends his goal drought. The cross is floated in from the right touchline to the far post, where Benteke is unmarked and guides a diving header into the corner.
78 minWenger will be furious with his side's complacency. Surely they cannot let this slip? Lowton has just headed the ball behind and Arsenal have a corner. The Villa fans have come alive following that goal.
79 minRosicky is booed by the Villa fans for going to the deck after a clash with Agbonlahor. Swarbrick, the referee, has a look and allows the play to go on before attending the midfielder once the ball heads out of play. Replays shown the Rosicky took and elbow right to the nose.
80 minRosicky is sat on the turf with his nose busted wide open. Blood everywhere. He doesn't look amused.
83 minRosicky swaps his shirt as the play restart. Delph hits a low strike from range, but it's easily gathered by Szczesny. The cross comes back in from the right by Weimann with Benteke lurking at the far post, but Mertesacker makes a crucial interception.
85 minVilla are really putting Arsenal under severe pressure at the moment, and you can sense the nerves among the away bench.
85 minYELLOW CARD: Agbonlahor is booked for an earlier challenge on Rosicky, after the referee allowed play to continue.
86 minARSENAL CHANGE: The sub is subbed. Tomas Rosicky is taken off, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain returning for the first time since August.
86 minChamberlain's pace could crucial on the counter for the Gunners. The game is finely poised at the moment with just minutes to go.
88 minGibbs goes on a terrific run down the left from an Arsenal throw, but skews the shot wide of the near post after being unbalanced by a desperate Vlaar.
89 minI expecting there to be a good few minutes of added time.
90 minCHANCE! Heart in mouth moment for Arsenal as Benteke connects with his head from a deep cross, but nods it straight at Szczesny. It did look as if Mertesacker was pushed in the back by a Villa man prior to the header.
90 minNot sure where they have all come from, but we have six minutes of added time here.
90+1 minArsenal are well on the back foot as Villa just hoof the ball forward.
90+2 minNearly a chance for Giroud, who brings the ball down well from the heavens, but he is offside. Giroud is completely isolated in attack for Arsenal.
90+3 minSAVE! Arsenal keep hold of the ball in attack before Wilshere chips in Cazorla into the box. Cazorla takes the ball wide to the right and shoots low to the near post, but it's comfortable for Guzan. The game is very stretched at the moment.
90+4 minGuzan launches the ball forward once again, but Benteke is offside. Arsenal will take their time over this.
90+5 minYELLOW CARD: Wilshere is booked for going in late.
90+6 minFULL TIME: Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal
10.01pmA huge roar comes from the away fans as the final whistle blows and Arsenal hold out for the win. The Gunners move back to the top of the Premier League after weathering the Villa storm to pick up a 2-1 win.
10.02pmChristian Benteke's first goal since September gave Villa real hope in the last 15 minutes, but first-half goals from Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud give Arsenal the win.
10.04pmWell that's it for this commentary, but stick around for my analysis piece on Sports Mole shortly.
