Aston Villa duo disagree on Arsenal handball controversy after Gunners give away victory

Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead to draw with Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium, with the Gunners seeing what they thought was a late winner ruled out for handball

Aston Villa scorers Ollie Watkins and Youri Tielemans had different takes on the late VAR drama in their draw away at Arsenal.

Goals either side of the break from Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz appeared to have left Arsenal in control. Tielemans quickly halved the deficit, though, and Villa’s comeback was complete when Watkins fired home.

There was still time for Arsenal to find a third when Havertz deflected a Mikel Merino effort beyond Emi Martinez. It wasn’t to be, though, with a VAR check finding that the German had handled the ball, and the game ended all-square.

Watkins and Tielemans were both asked about the incident in their post-match interviews. However, the team-mates offered differing verdicts.

Tielemans’ response was matter-of-fact. “Handball is handball when it is a goal. It is what it is,” the Belgian midfielder told BBC Sport.

Watkins spoke to Sky Sports after the draw and was far less convinced, despite the VAR check. He watched a replay on the broadcaster’s screens, sharing his thoughts when quizzed by host David Jones.

“Seeing it back there, I’m not sure,” Watkins said. “I think it’s gone in favour for us, to be honest. If that was against me, I think I would be a little bit disappointed. From that angle I’m not sure, but that’s what VAR is there for.”

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The dropped points leave Arsenal six points behind league leaders Liverpool, who claimed a last-gasp win at Brentford earlier in the afternoon. Arne Slot’s side have also played one game fewer, but Arsenal scorer Martinelli wasn’t giving up hope.

“It’s a disappointing day. We wanted to win the game, but we have to keep going,” the Brazilian told Sky Sports. “We trust in ourselves, and we have to keep going and improving – it is a long journey to go. We have to focus on ourselves.

“That’s football, that’s the Premier League, the most difficult league in the world. We have to see the game and see what we have done wrong and improve for the next games. We know our qualities and we know the potential we have and we trust in ourselves.

“We wanted to win the game. That was our goal. We tried our best. We didn’t win. We have to keep going and trust in ourselves. We have to rewatch the game and see what we did wrong and where to improve.”

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