Arsenal kept an airtight defense in the second period to escape with a 2-1 away victory over Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday. As heavy rain showered Villa Park, the hosts launched several attacking waves but failed to condemn Arsenal to their first league defeat despite taking the lead early in the first period. "We totally dominated the second half. Arsenal are a very fine side, but we deserved to get a point," Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill said after the game. Craig Gardner opened the scoring in the 14th minute, tucking a John Carew cross home past Manuel Almunia. League-leaders Arsenal took charge of the game after the goal and looked en route to equalize through their famous passing game. Mathieu Flamini leveled nine minutes later as he forced Emanuel Eboue's cross past Scott Carson after Tomas Rosicky failed to connect with the ball. In the 36th minute, Bakary Sagna swung an inch-perfect cross only for Emanuel Adebayor to steer a powerful header home. "This was a big test for us," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "We were really tested when we were losing and we deserve a lot of credit. We wanted to extend our lead and we're happy." Arsenal are five points clear at the top of the league and still have a game in hand while Aston Villa remained seventh.
