Brazilian midfielder Gilberto Silva scored a late goal to salvage a point for Arsenal in their first Premiership match at the Emirates Stadium.
Villa skipper Olof Mellberg gave the visitors a shock lead when he headed in from a corner after 53 minutes.
Gilberto equalised six minutes before the end following excellent work from substitute Theo Walcott.
Villa then withstood a late onslaught to ensure that Martin O'Neill's tenure as manager got off to a great start.
O'Neill, who was appointed Villa boss at the start of August, seems to have immediately suffused confidence and belief into his young side.
Gareth Barry, Steven Davis and Gavin McCann were outstanding for the visitors in midfield and 19-year-old Gabriel Agbonlahor was a real threat on the break.
Arsenal were their usual blend of touch and movement, dominating possession and creating a host of chances, but they lacked sharpness in front of goal.
Agbonlahor had the first good chance of the game when he drew a smart save from Jens Lehmann with a volley from 15 yards.
Thierry Henry was predictably the main threat for the hosts and had a hat-trick of shots from the edge of the area, but blazed each over the crossbar.
The Gunners thought they had broken the deadlock after three minutes of first-half stoppage time.
Kole Toure headed in a left-wing corner from close range but his effort was ruled out for offside.
The goal would have been hard on Villa, who were organised and resilient, in sharp contrast to their showings under David O'Leary at the end of last season.
The home crowd were incensed shortly after the interval when Emmanuel Eboue went down following a tussle with Luke Moore and, as new Premier League guidelines dictate, Villa played on in the absence of the whistle.
And they were stunned when the visitors scored the first goal in a competitive game at the Emirates Stadium.
Lehmann failed to collect a left-wing corner and Mellberg rose above Emmanuel Adebayor to head into the unguarded net.
Arsenal responded by laying siege to the Villa goal and Adebayor almost atoned for his earlier error by slotting in from close range, but Liam Ridgewell cleared off the line.
Wenger brought Walcott on from the bench for his first Premiership appearance and the teenager played a key part in Arsenal's equaliser.
He sent in an inviting cross from the left and the ball ricocheted to Gilberto, who thumped a volley into the roof of the net.
Arsenal: Lehmann, Eboue, Toure, Djourou, Hoyte (Flamini 80), Hleb, Fabregas, Silva, Ljungberg (Walcott 73), Adebayor (Van Persie 65), Henry.
Subs Not Used: Almunia, Cygan.
Booked: Toure.
Goals: Silva 84.
Aston Villa: Sorensen, Hughes, Mellberg, Ridgewell, Samuel, Agbonlahor, McCann, Davis (Hendrie 83), Barry, Angel (Laursen 90), Moore (Djemba-Djemba 89).
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Phillips.
Booked: Hendrie, Angel.
Goals: Mellberg 53.
Att: 60,023.
Ref: G Poll (Hertfordshire). |
