Aston Villa 1  Arsenal  2Shortly after the final whistle confirmed the end of Aston Villa's four-game winning run, their manager, Martin O'Neill, was standing expressionless, staring at his feet and preparing to explain his feelings, presumably of crushing disappointment, at his side's frustrating failure. Instead eventually he said: "Obviously, I'm delighted."

If O'Neill was that happy, imagine how Arsene Wenger must have felt. "We were absolutely amazing," the Arsenal manager purred. It was that kind of game, the kind it is impossible not to enjoy.

For Arsenal, this was unequivocally impressive: in the first half they proved their skill, in the second their spirit. Villa also proved two points: the best way to approach a game against the league leaders, and the worst.

"I think the first half was a big lesson for us," said Villa's captain, Gareth Barry. "That was some of the best football we've seen here for a long time, but we thought about it at half-time and responded. We were taught a footballing lesson in the first half, they showed us how to play the game. But we showed in the second half that there are ways to beat them."

The key difference between the halves lay in Villa's midfield, which in the opening half was so close to their defence as to be indistinguishable. Arsenal's passing was wonderful, but they were helped by the fact that only the final third of the pitch tended to contain opponents. For the second half Villa adopted a more aggressive outlook and though the change did not bring goals, it did bring encouragement. Arsenal are not often forced to spend 45 minutes thwarting a four-man attack, and they did not look at all happy about it.

"They play some lovely stuff," said O'Neill, "but they didn't play great stuff in the second half. You can't play lovely stuff if you don't have the ball. If it's flowing for you, then it's a lovely world. It's not so clever when you are chasing it, and even those players have to chase it. They chased it more often today than they have all season. We had them rocking. I couldn't ask for any more."

"We have a team which knows that you have to fight to win a game," said Emmanuel Adebayor, "but these games give us more confidence. In the first half we played very good football. We enjoyed ourselves. In the second half it was cold, and I agree we didn't play good football."

A hamstring injury to their outstanding player, Cesc Fabregas, might have worried other teams, but it appeared to inspire Arsenal. In the Spaniard's absence, Emmanuel Eboue was the dominant force in the opening period. The pattern was set in the fourth minute, when a spell of Arsenal possession ended with the Ivorian improvising a dangerous shot from 20 yards.

His game is founded on athleticism and intelligence rather than pace and trickery, but he left Wilfred Bouma exhausted and exposed. He had a hand in both Arsenal goals, his deflected cross allowing Mathieu Flamini to score from the edge of the area, and his reverse pass creating the space from which Bacary Sagna crossed for Adebayor's header.

Villa scored from their only attack of the half, when John Carew's twice-deflected cross found Craig Gardner, but they deserved some reward for their later improvement. They came no closer than Carew's 62nd-minute header, which hit the bar and bounced to safety. "I think the second half showed we could beat Arsenal," said Gabriel Agbonlahor. "We just wanted to go out and attack them, and we looked as though we could win the game. I think they were scared of us."

Perhaps, but Arsenal's performance must have inspired fear too. It has certainly provoked speculation they might go another league season unbeaten. "People will talk," was Wenger's response. "Just let us play."