Arsenal joins City atop Premier League after Villa ends City's perfect start

Manchester City's unbeaten record in the Premier League this season ended with a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa on 24 October 2026, with striker Nicolas Jackson scoring both goals to inflict Enzo Maresca's first league loss. Jackson capitalised on defensive errors from Marc Guehi in the sixth minute and Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 60th, with Erling Haaland temporarily equalising in the 53rd minute. Despite dominating possession with 15 shots to Villa's eight, City's clinical finishing and defensive vulnerabilities proved costly.

The defeat opened the door for Arsenal, who capitalised immediately with a 2-0 victory over Everton at home in heavy rain later the same day. Goals from Ezri Konsa in the seventh minute and Gabriel in the 68th moved Mikel Arteta's side level with City on 21 points after eight matches, marking the start of a closely contested title race. Arsenal's defensive record—conceding just five goals in eight games—contrasts sharply with City's defensive struggles; City have conceded nine goals in their past four matches and now have a goals-against rate of 1.13 per game compared to Arsenal's 0.625.

City's defensive concerns have centred on goalkeeper Donnarumma and defender Guehi, both of whom have made errors leading to Premier League goals. Maresca acknowledged the defensive slip-ups but expressed confidence in his squad, attributing the loss partly to lack of clinical finishing in the Villa box. Guehi was substituted at half-time after receiving a yellow card and making an error for the opening goal, though Maresca stated he was not concerned about the defender's form given his intensive schedule with club and country. Donnarumma, signed last summer to replace Ederson, has struggled with distribution from the back and was unable to keep out Jackson's second goal.

Aston Villa's victory marked their first home win of the season and their third successive league win over City. Manager Unai Emery praised Jackson's improvement in finishing and tactical positioning. The result came as City continue to operate under the shadow of financial rule breaches; an independent commission found City committed 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules, which City has denied and appealed. Villa moved to sixth place on 11 points with the victory.