Kai Havertz squares off against Emiliano Martinez as tempers flare after Arsenal had a last-minute goal disallowed for handball during their defeat to Aston Villa

• Kai Havertz and Emi Martinez squared off in a heated moment on Saturday 
• It came in the dying embers of Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa at Villa Park
• It will do Arsenal no harm at all to have Arteta out of sight at Villa Park – It’s All Kicking Off

Kai Havertz squared off against Emiliano Martinez in a dramatic ending to Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa on Saturday evening.

Tempers flared as Arsenal had a last-gasp equaliser ruled out by VAR, after the German midfielder had appeared to concede a handball inside the six yard box, with Eddie Nketiah bundling the ball into the back of the net. 

The game went on and Arsenal pushed to pull a goal back, sending several long balls into the Villa penalty area. Martinez jumped to pluck one of the crosses out of the air, but was pushed to the floor by Havertz sparking the altercation. 

The Arsenal man stepped up and confronted the 2023 Yashin Trophy winner, going head-to-head with him in a heated moment. 

Players gathered around them to break up the stand-off, with Pau Torres pushing Havertz away from Martinez. 

Kai Havertz and Emiliano Martinez squared off in the dying embers of Aston Villa’s 1-0 victory against Arsenal 

It was a heated moment in the game, with Pau Torres stepping in to separate the two players

It came after Havertz had pushed Martinez, forcing him to the ground, in the seventh minute of injury time

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Despite that, Arsenal were unable to get a goal back, with Unai Emery’s side now having beaten the Premier League champions and the former league leaders in the space of three days. 

John McGinn’s first-half goal proved the difference, with Villa Park erupting with elation at full-time. 

The result means Villa are now unbeaten in their last six matches across all competitions, having also beaten Tottenham and Fulham. 

Arsenal, meanwhile, suffered their second defeat of the 2023-24 campaign and despite coming into the weekend top of the table, have now dropped to second, one point behind Liverpool, who claimed a late 2-1 victory against Crystal Palace earlier on Saturday. 

Despite the loss, Mikel Arteta lauded his team’s performance after the match, with the Gunners having more attempts on goal and possession than Villa. 

‘Really good performance I thought we were better team and didn’t deserve to lose game at all but this is football,’ he said to Sky Sports after the match. 

Arteta initially refused to comment on the refereeing decision at the end of the game that could have seen the Gunners pull one back, but he backtracked on his comments when quizzed on whether he had an opinion on the decision. 

‘I do, [a] big opinion,’ he said flatly. He added to BBC Match of the Day: ‘It’s clear and obvious for me.’

On his side’s inability to score, he added: ‘Because you have to put the ball in the net and that’s the only thing we missed today. We generated some big, big chances, bringing the ball higher up. We still lost the game.’

The pair exchanged several heated words, with Arsenal having had a goal disallowed moments before

The German midfielder had appeared to handle the ball in the goal mouth, before Eddie Nketiah bundled the ball into the back of the net

The referee initially saw the handball and disallowed the goal, with VAR stepping in to confirm that the decision was correct

John McGinn once again starred for Villa, scoring the only goal of the match to help them claim their sixth win in seven games 

Havertz, meanwhile, has risen up in the Spanish manager’s pecking order of late, having found the back of the net in three of his last five appearances for Arsenal. 

Arsenal captain, Martin Odegaard, also had his say on the hand ball decision, telling Sky Sports: ‘I thought it was a goal but I haven’t seen it so don’t want to say too much.’ 

While Arsenal have dropped three points tonight, the Norwegian added that he thought his side were the better team’.

‘It’s too early in the season, it’s a big game and we wanted three points. Villa are a great team and credit to them, they are well organised and good on the ball. But we were the better team.’

Mikel Arteta had to watch the game from the stands as he served a suspension

Having come into the weekend top of the league, Arsenal have dropped to second after Liverpool claimed a last-gasp victory against Crystal Palace earlier on Saturday

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