Emiliano Martinez was the master of Aston Villa's downfall against his former club as Arsenal came from behind twice and scored two late goals to defeat Unai Emery's side 4-2 to rise back to the top of the Premier League table.
Ollie Watkins and Philippe Coutinho twice put Villa ahead in the first half either side of Bukayo Saka's response, but Oleksandr Zinchenko restored parity for the Gunners before a chaotic period of injury time.
Martinez's highly unfortunate own goal would seemingly settle the contest, but there was time for Gabriel Martinelli to net into an open goal just before the full-time whistle as Arsenal demoted Manchester City back down to second place.
Certainly aware of where the frailties lied in his former side, Emery witnessed the Lions draw first blood with only five minutes on the clock, with Matty Cash sparking a quick counter-attack after robbing Zinchenko of the ball.
The Poland right-back immediately picked out Watkins, who easily evaded the attention of William Saliba and expertly found the far corner from a tight angle.
Villa's penchant for early goals was well-documented before the game, and the hosts' press was causing Arsenal - who looked particularly nervous at the back - a world of problems.
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However, the Gunners' response to going behind was unsurprisingly a positive one, and they were inches away from levelling matters in the 12th minute through Ben White, whose goalbound chip was miraculously tipped onto the crossbar by Tyrone Mings's outstretched leg.
Villa's lead would not last much longer, though, as in the 16th minute of the match, Mings headed a White cross into the path of Saka, who unleashed a thunderous half volley into the roof of the net.
Despite being pegged back by Saka's ninth league goal of the season, Villa were unfazed and continued to play their way through the Arsenal lines, which led to a brilliant second for the hosts in the 31st minute.
A sweeping move out from the back ended with Alex Moreno firing a low cross to the edge of the box, which Emiliano Buendia smartly dummied, and the ball fizzed through the legs of Granit Xhaka to Coutinho, who found the bottom corner with aplomb.
With all 11 players contributing to the defensive effort, Villa survived late Arsenal pressure to get to half time with their one-goal lead intact, and Arteta resisted the urge to make any half-time alterations.
However, Saka had not been moving comfortably for the majority of the game after a challenge from Moreno - which took his boot clean off - and his race was seemingly run in the 51st minute as he dropped to the turf for treatment.
The 21-year-old would surprisingly carry on to contribute to the Arsenal onslaught, which saw Eddie Nketiah hit the bar with a header in the 56th minute, but the North Londoners were well on top early in the second period.
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Arsenal's bright start to the second half would be rewarded in the 61st minute, albeit thanks to some more questionable defending, as Zinchenko was left in acres of space to pick out the bottom corner from the edge of the box following a short corner routine.
It was creator-in-chief Martin Odegaard who picked out Zinchenko, and the Arsenal captain played a delightful ball through to Nketiah in the 63rd minute, but the Englishman was forced wide and chipped the ball well over Martinez's crossbar.
As Arsenal huffed and puffed for the winner, Ezri Konsa was very nearly the architect of Villa's downfall in the 77th minute - losing the ball to the hard-working Nketiah just inside the area - and the English attacker had ostensibly picked out Odegaard for a tap-in, but the Norwegian inexplicably dragged his shot wide.
Nevertheless, Villa's pacey wide men continued to provide a threat on the counter, and Aaron Ramsdale was required to make a stunning save from Leon Bailey, who kept the ball in play on the right before seeing the England goalkeeper tip his effort onto the crossbar.
Neither team was content with a point as six minutes of time were added on, the third of which saw ex-Gunner Martinez gift Arsenal the greatest gift that they could receive in the title race, as Jorginho's long-range effort cannoned off the woodwork before deflecting off the head of Martinez into the back of the net.
The Argentine would attempt to make amends by coming up for a last-minute corner, but Arsenal dealt with the danger easily and released Fabio Vieira, who set Martinelli on his way to tap home into Martinez's exposed goal.
Arsenal have temporarily gone three points clear of Man City in first place ahead of their trip to Leicester City next weekend, while Villa remain 11th and are next in action at Everton in seven days' time.
Ben Knapton
