Analysis: Emirates collapse sees Aston Villa squander chance to make a statement

Twice ahead at the Emirates, Dean Smith’s visitors somehow contrived to lose 3-2 as for the second time in the space of a week they were knocked off course playing with a man advantage.

Yet while last Monday’s 0-0 draw with West Ham was frustrating, this latest setback was far, far worse and the immediate concern now is for the lasting effect it might have on the confidence a team still finding their feet in the Premier League.

Make no mistake, this was a defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

For an hour, maybe a little more, Villa looked set to deliver the kind of statement which would have answered many of the questions which remain about their ability to compete at this level. They were better than Arsenal prior to Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ 40th minute dismissal and for a good while after too.

Then, at the point they should have been at their strongest, after Wesley had almost immediately countered Nicolas Pepe’s first equaliser to restore the lead, it all fell apart.

Arsenal, a man short, somehow assumed control. Calum Chambers’ goal to make it 2-2 and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s winner were the result of poor decision-making at the back but had already begun to feel inevitable due to a paucity of game management, both on and off the field.

By the end the questions surrounding this Villa team remained, having just got a whole lot bigger.

Performances over the past week which should have earned six points have delivered only one and they are back in the bottom three.

Throw in last month’s defeat to Bournemouth, where again they paid the price for naive errors, and the patten looks even more concerning. Quite simply, they cannot continue to throw away points at the current rate. If they do, there will only be one outcome come the end of the campaign.

Villa, guilty of mistakes on the pitch, also fell victim to paralysis in the dugout as the tide began to turn against them, with Smith not making his final two changes until his team were behind.

In the immediate aftermath the head coach was quick to reject the notion he could have changed things earlier. But when he and his team sit down on Monday to pick through the bones of a fourth defeat in six league games, he may quickly begin to feel differently.

A positive reaction now is key, if not imperative. Wednesday’s Carabao Cup trip to Brighton offers a chance to rebuild spirit, albeit with what will likely be a much-changed line-up.

Of far greater importance are the two league games which remain before the next international break, at home to Burnley on Saturday and then away to Norwich seven days later.

Some solace can be found in the fact that, yet again, there was much to admire in their display. But we are at the point when plaudits pale into irrelevance against the pressing need for points.

The easiest comparison here was the opening day defeat 3-1 defeat at Tottenham, one Smith later rejected.

True, his team did not come under the cosh so much but just as then they performed excellently for the first hour before falling away. Just as then they lost their out ball, became pushed further and further back before eventually conceding.

Yes, it was a surprise to see Bjorn Engels and Tyrone Mings make basic errors but no defender is perfect and the more they come under pressure, the greater chance of a slip-up.

Mings, for example, had been at his imperious best before choosing the wrong option and attempting to cushion a header to Neil Taylor, which was promptly pounced on by Chambers with nine minutes remaining.

Engels, who had earlier been guilty of bringing down Matteo Guendouzzi for the penalty from which Pepe first levelled, then gave the ball away and hauled down Aubamayeng 25 yards out. The striker promptly sent the free-kick into the bottom corner with Jack Grealish, on the end of the wall, moving just slightly to his right and allowing the ball to pass.

Grealish had earlier done brilliantly to surge into the box and lay on Villa's second goal for Wesley.

It felt then that this would be the afternoon both players emphatically answered their critics. John McGinn - here, there and everywhere - was dominating the midfield.

Then in what felt like an instant it changed and neither Villa or Smith had an answer, though in truth the visitors should have been awarded a late penalty when Sokratis blocked Conor Hourihane's shot with his arm.

There was to be no reprieve. Villa's season so far reads like a catalogue of missed opportunities of which this was the biggest yet. That narrative needs to change and soon.