It seemed that the Gunners were so much mourning their exit from the 5th-Round of the FA Cup against Manchester United and the exit from the Semi-Final of the Carling Cup against eventual winners Tottenham Hotspur FC of London when they hosted Martin O'Neil's Aston Villa FC at the Emirates Stadium.The loss of Eduardo da Silva for the remainining part of the season is making matters worse for them. Aston Villa's men started the game on a more positive note with Gabriel Agbonlahor failing to find his feet in the Arsenal Fc 18-yard box as Willem Gallas successfully cleared off the ball.
Their efforts paid off in the 27th minute when Agbonlahor's low-range crossed was tapped into the net by Phillipe Senderos. Aston Villa continued mounting the pressure as Gareth Barry and Maloney continued providing the inspiration from mid-fiewld.
However, the Gunners continued with their slack form as Adebayo, Cecs Fabregas and Abou Diaby misfired their chances as if there were multiple goal-posts on the field. They almost conceeded more goals when Maloney's shot hit the goal-bar from midfield and a second-half shot was instinctively saved by Manuel Almunia.
The Gunners' goal came in the dying minutes of the game when Steve Bentner combined with Emmanuel Adebayor for a slick shot into Aston Villa's net despite a show of defensive prowess from the Villa park men to end the game in a 1-all draw.
The Draw gives the Gunners a point lead over the all-charging Manchester United Fc.
