"They were the driving force" – 2 Arsenal stars hailed for 'dragging' Gunners over the line against Aston Villa

Arsenal legend Martin Keown has showered huge praise on Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jorginho after their team's 4-2 Premier League win at Aston Villa on Saturday (February 18).

The Gunners climbed back to the top of the 2022-23 Premier League table with a statement win at Villa Park at the weekend. The club are currently on 54 points from 23 games, two ahead of Manchester City.

After Ollie Watkins opened the scoring in the fifth minute, Bukayo Saka equalized just 11 minutes later. Philippe Coutinho restored the hosts' lead with a 31st-minute strike. However, Zinchenko netted the north London side's second goal after the hour mark before Emiliano Martinez's untimely own goal and Gabriel Martinelli's injury-time finish.

👊 Victorious at Villa

Relive all the highlights from our 4-2 win in Birmingham earlier this afternoon 👇 https://t.co/5FO6Pmh5de

In his Daily Mail column, Keown lauded Arsenal players' determination and grit to overcome Unai Emery's Aston Villa on Saturday. He wrote:

"Arsenal sent an important message to Manchester City on Saturday: 'If you think this title race is over, then think again, because we're not going away.' Arteta's players showed so much character and personality at Aston Villa to keep going, to keep believing, to keep playing their brand of football and ultimately, that ended their frustrating run of three Premier League games without a win."

Highlighting Zinchenko and Jorginho's performances, Keown added:

"I was particularly impressed with Arsenal's two serial trophy-winners: Zinchenko and Jorginho. They were the driving force and helped drag their teammates over the winning line at Villa Park."

Sharing his thoughts on the Gunners' season, Keown continued:

"After losing to Everton, drawing with Brentford, and losing to City, it was a significant win and a response of potential champions. But Arteta's men know City are chasing and they need to maintain this mindset and do it all over again at Leicester City next week."

Matchweek 24: complete ✅ https://t.co/8qYeb5TtWw

Arsenal willing to break club record to sign 24-year-old midfielder, claims Dean Jones

Meanwhile, transfer insider Dean Jones has claimed that Arsenal are prepared to break their transfer record fee of £72 million to sign West Ham United captain Declan Rice this summer. He told Give Me Sport:

"I think they are definitely willing to break their own transfer record to sign Declan Rice, but I'm not sure they're going to go above and beyond the £100 million mark and break the British record."

Claiming that the Hammers' are hoping for £110 million, Jones added:

"I think West Ham will be hopeful that happens. They're hopeful that they can get £110 million. I can understand why they would set their stall out at that level. I'm just not 100% sure that it's realistic."