The last-gasp winner against Aston Villa was thwarted by Arsenal forward Kai Havertz.
Following Arsenal’s Saturday defeat at the hands of Unai Emery’s team, the media team at Aston Villa made fun of Kai Havertz with a lighthearted post. At Villa Park, John McGinn’s early goal proved to be the difference as the hosts maintained their strong form to close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to just two points.
Throughout the game, Havertz was clearly frustrated when the Arsenal forward’s late equalizer was disallowed due to a handball. Additionally, when he challenged for possession and bundled into the Argentina international, he started a late altercation with Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
On Sunday, Villa posted a photo of Havertz snatching Youri Tielemans’ shirt during a ball-battle on X, the former Twitter. The caption, which said, “Who else really wants a Youri Tielemans shirt?” made fun of the Arsenal player.
It happened after referee Jarred Gillett correctly identified a handball in a sea of bodies during a goalmouth scramble, leaving Havertz furious that his late strike had been disallowed. Havertz bundled the ball into the net, but his joy was short-lived as Villa managed to hold on for a spirited victory despite a protracted VAR check failing to step in.
After the game, Havertz emphasized on Instagram that Arsenal should have received at least a point. “Tough one to take,” he wrote. I believed we deserved better. Let’s move on to Tuesday. As always, I appreciate your support.”
Given the fallout from Arsenal’s loss at Newcastle last month, Mikel Arteta declined to question the referee despite being visibly irritated by the decision to disallow Havertz’s late goal. The Gunners were also denied a penalty earlier in the Villa Park match when Gabriel Jesus was taken down in the box by Douglas Luiz’s challenge.
