PERHAPS, from somewhere distant, you will look at this result and think, “Oh, bit of a shock at the Emirates.” It wasn’t. What was shocking was the ease with which Villa brushed Arsenal aside and reminded us that there will, after all, be a race for that fourth Champions League place. Arsenal fans were streaming out of the stadium long before Mike Riley blew his whistle for the last time.

Not only did Villa win by two goals, but they missed a penalty before scoring their first, and such was the authority of their performance that they have every right to believe they can get a top-four place. They need to avoid too many injuries and it would help if Arsenal continue to be so inconsistent. The team that lost at home to Hull, squandered a two-goal lead against Spurs and were then brilliant against Manchester United returned to mediocrity yesterday. “You have to accept at times that the game is played by human beings,” manager Arsène Wenger said afterwards. “It is unexplainable why we don’t play to our potential.”

Was it really just a week earlier that the Gunners had blazed past United? That they thrilled us with their verve and skill? Yesterday they played a pretty dull second fiddle to Aston Villa.

It was a big victory for Martin O’Neill. He can motivate a team, we’ve always known that, but here he showed that the other side of his brain works too. He suspected that Arsenal would play with five in midfield, so he set up his team to counter his rival. His five-man midfield outplayed Arsenal’s and O’Neill always knew that his lone striker, Gabriel Agbonlahor, would do a better job than Nicklas Bendtner.

To say that was the case is to utter the greatest understatement. Agbonlahor was outstanding. Bendtner, short on confidence, had a demoralising afternoon. It wasn’t all the young striker’s fault. All around him, there were underperformers. Cesc Fabregas looked as if he had been dragged out of bed to play but never quite woke up, Samir Nasri never got the level he achieved last weekend and the team never tried to play at the tempo that caused United so many problems.

The will to win and the greater determination came from Villa. With five in midfield and every player keen to work for the team, they contained the home side far more easily than you can imagine. Last weekend Steve Sidwell made a terrible mistake to present victory to Middlesbrough at Villa Park but O’Neill stuck with him and was rewarded with a terrific performance.

Villa had two excellent centre-backs in Martin Laursen and Curtis Davies and it is hard to remember Brad Friedel having that much to do; he blocked a first-half shot from Fabregas and a late effort from the Arsenal midfielder — and that was about it.

Villa should have been in front after 19 minutes when Theo Walcott caught Ashley Young late inside the area. As regular penalty-taker Gareth Barry was receiving treatment at the time, Young got up to take the spot-kick, but Manuel Almunia made a fine save and William Gallas reacted quickly to complete the clearance.

Sidwell might have scored from an Ashley Young pass; then Young and Agbonlahor combined neatly to set up Barry, but his tame shot was held by Almunia.

Villa’s enthusiasm was wonderfully reflected in Agbonlahor’s 60-yard chase back after Walcott counter- attacked from a Villa corner. Watching the striker scurry back was to be reminded of the exuberance and appetite that, on the day, Arsenal lacked.

After the interval, Villa’s control of the game became more pronounced. They went ahead in the 70th minute when Ashley Young’s cross from the left was headed into his own net by Gael Clichy, who was being pressurised by Agbonlahor. You may think Arsenal were unlucky to concede that, but the left-back was equally unsure when attempting a headed clearance against Manchester United. Then he got away with it; this time he didn’t. What goes around comes around.

At 1-0 down, there was no perceptible change in Arsenal’s performance. Wenger brought on Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Vela but by then Villa’s grip on the game was vice-like.

The second goal arrived 10 minutes from full-time. A belted clearance from Laursen landed between Agbonlahor and Gallas. The striker’s speed and strength allowed him to hold off Gallas and fire the ball past Almunia. Perhaps the goalkeeper could have done better, but his penalty save had kept Arsenal in the game and Villa enjoyed such control that they didn’t need a second. At the end they walked from the pitch almost nonchalantly, as if what they had done hadn’t been that much. In a sense, it hadn’t.

ARSENAL: Almunia 6, Sagna 6 (Toure 71min), Gallas 6, Silvestre 6, Clichy 5, Denilson 6, Walcott 6, Diaby 5 (Adebayor 61min), Fabregas 4, Nasri 5, Bendtner 4 (Vela 68min)

ASTON VILLA: Friedel 6, Cuellar 6, Davies 7, Laursen 7, L Young 6, Petrov 6, Milner 6, Sidwell 7, Barry 6, A Young 7, Agbonlahor 8