Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa: Gunners snatch dramatic win with two injury-time goals
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WSL: Arsenal beat Aston Villa in thrilling comeback
Arsenal scored twice in stoppage time as England forward Beth Mead, playing her first game for 11 months after a serious knee injury, helped the Gunners grab a dramatic win over Aston Villa.
Mead came on in the 88th minute and set up the winning goal, scored by her Lionesses team-mate Alessia Russo to spark scenes of celebration for the majority of a crowd of more than 35,000 at Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners had been heading for their second successive home loss before Katie McCabe fired into the roof of the net in the 92nd minute to set up the incredible finish.
Villa had taken a first-half lead against the run of play when Maz Pacheco was left unmarked and powered in a header from Lucy Staniforth's superb corner in the 25th minute.
But, in a frantic finale that also saw Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius hit the post and have a shot cleared off the line, Villa could not hold on for what would have been their first win of the season.
Mead boosts Arsenal when they need it most
It had looked like being a frustrating afternoon for Arsenal, who had earlier hit the woodwork through Caitlin Foord, as Villa held firm under increasing pressure.
But Mead's introduction gave a massive boost to the crowd of 35,829 - the fifth highest attendance for an Arsenal Women WSL match at the Emirates - and the home side, who then scored twice in 12 minutes of injury time.
The 28-year-old - who helped England win Euro 2022, earning the Golden Boot for top goalscorer and also the Player of the Tournament award - sustained a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury last November.
Her injury kept her out of this summer's Women's World Cup, in which England reached the final before losing to Spain.
Mead only returned to full training this week and was given a great reception when she warmed up, and then a standing ovation when she came on to the pitch.
After McCabe's equaliser, Mead slid in to win the ball inside the Aston Villa penalty area and gave it to Russo, who fired in the winning goal.
Gunners manager Jonas Eidevall said the decision for Mead to pass instead of shoot herself demonstrated her footballing intelligence.
"If Beth Mead just takes a shot it is going to be blocked and that's what makes her so special, she instead passes to Alessia Russo and it's a goal," he said.
Asked whether this could be the start of a great club partnership between Mead and Russo - who moved from Manchester United in the summer - Eidevall said: "We've seen them together in the national team and it's not a hope that's just a fantasy, we've seen that work really well with England."
Ward unhappy at added time
Aston Villa boss Carla Ward was furious at the amount of injury time added at the end of the match.
She said: "Someone tell me where 12 minutes comes from please, I have no idea.
"There were a few stoppages but 12 minutes is ludicrous and that sadly is where the game is going.
"It's a tough one to take. We defended unbelievably for 92 minutes but I'm proud of the players."
Villa have now lost all of three of their WSL matches, although two of those have come against two of last season's top three - Manchester United and Arsenal.
Against United, Villa also went ahead only to concede an injury-time winning goal.