Match ends, Luton Town 3, Arsenal 4.
![Declan Rice scores](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/624/cpsprodpb/160B/production/_131934650_gettyimages-1833649636.jpg)
Declan Rice’s last-gasp header snatched victory for Arsenal in a seven-goal thriller at Luton to move them five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
It was the conclusion to a compelling encounter in which the hosts twice fought back and threatened to win when Elijah Adebayo and Ross Barkley scored in an eight-minute period after the break, with Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya culpable for both goals.
However, the Hatters were denied a valuable point when Rice met Martin Odegaard’s cross in the seventh minute of stoppage time, 23 seconds after the six official minutes added on had expired.
Arsenal had dominated a largely uneventful opening to a game which sparked into life when Gabriel Martinelli steered Bukayo Saka’s pass into the bottom-left corner.
Gabriel Osho’s header from Alfie Doughty’s corner brought the hosts level shortly after, but when Gabriel Jesus nodded in Ben White’s cross from close range the Gunners looked to have regained control.
But in a chaotic period after the interval, the league’s best defence suddenly appeared flustered with Adebayo leaping above Raya to head in another Doughty delivery from a corner.
And with Luton in the ascendency, Barkley collected an Andros Townsend pass and beat White before driving a low left-foot shot under Raya.
The momentum swung back towards Mikel Arteta’s side when Kai Havertz prodded in from the impressive Jesus’ pass to equalise, but Luton looked to have held the visitors at bay until Rice’s dramatic intervention.
The result leaves Luton 17th, two points above the relegation zone. Second-placed Liverpool, five points adrift of Arsenal, play their game in hand at Sheffield United on Wednesday (19:30 GMT), while Manchester City, a point further back, are at fourth-placed Aston Villa (20:15).
Jesus stars as Raya blunders rekindle goalkeeper debate
![Gabriel Jesus celebrates scoring at Luton](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/624/cpsprodpb/75C9/production/_131935103_gettyimages-1833554886.jpg)
Arsenal have now won their past six matches in all competitions but there were clear positives and negatives to take from this latest success.
Jesus underlined his importance to Arteta’s side with a superb contribution that saw him have a hand in two goals and score another.
The Brazil forward’s quick thinking caught Doughty out for Arsenal’s first goal, while his physicality and perfectly weighted pass gave Havertz the simplest opportunity to level at 3-3.
While he has only scored two Premier League goals this season, his influence is key. He has not lost any of the 58 games in which he has scored and the Gunners will need to keep him fit if they are to stay the course in the title race.
On the flipside Arteta’s team had conceded just three league goals on their travels before kick-off, but they leave Bedfordshire with that tally having doubled.
All three appeared preventable, with Martinelli standing and watching as Osho got Luton back on track for the first time in the evening.
The performance of Raya will also undoubtedly add further scrutiny to Arteta’s decision to prefer his fellow Spaniard as first-choice goalkeeper to England stopper Aaron Ramsdale.
Gallant Luton go close
For Luton, this was another occasion when they came so close to delivering a result their fans could only have dreamed of on their long climb back up the English football pyramid.
While Luton famously beat the Gunners in the 1988 League Cup final, Andros Townsend was the only player in their starting XI on Tuesday to have been born when the clubs last met in the English top flight 32 years ago.
Their draw against Liverpool in November showed exactly what they are capable of against the Premier League big boys, and on another night they would have secured at least a point for their endeavours.
Barkley excelled in midfield and both Teden Mengi and goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski impressed for Rob Edwards’ side, who also face Manchester City, Newcastle and Chelsea at home before the end of the year.
![](https://m.files.bbci.co.uk/modules/bbc-morph-sport-player-rater-view/4.0.12/images/placeholder.png)
Player of the match
Gabriel MartinelliGabriel Martinelli
Luton Town
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Squad number6Player nameBarkley
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Squad number45Player nameDoughty
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Squad number7Player nameOgbene
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Squad number19Player nameBrown
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Squad number2Player nameOsho
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Squad number30Player nameTownsend
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Squad number11Player nameAdebayo
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Squad number15Player nameMengi
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Squad number17Player nameMpanzu
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Squad number14Player nameChong
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Squad number12Player nameKaboré
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Squad number29Player nameBell
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Squad number24Player nameKaminski
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Squad number9Player nameMorris
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Squad number18Player nameClark
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Squad number26Player nameGiles
Line-ups
Luton
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 24Kaminski
- 15Mengi
- 2Osho
- 29Bell
- 12Kaboré
- 17MpanzuSubstituted forClarkat 88′minutes
- 6BarkleyBooked at 44mins
- 45DoughtySubstituted forGilesat 88′minutes
- 30TownsendSubstituted forOgbeneat 62′minutes
- 19BrownBooked at 33minsSubstituted forChongat 61′minutes
- 11AdebayoSubstituted forMorrisat 61′minutes
Substitutes
- 7Ogbene
- 8Berry
- 9Morris
- 14Chong
- 18Clark
- 23Krul
- 26Giles
- 38Johnson
- 43Nelson
Arsenal
Formation 4-3-3
- 22Raya
- 4White
- 2Saliba
- 6Gabriel
- 15KiwiorSubstituted forZinchenkoat 64′minutes
- 8Ødegaard
- 41Rice
- 29Havertz
- 7Saka
- 9Gabriel JesusBooked at 45mins
- 11MartinelliSubstituted forTrossardat 64′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Ramsdale
- 14Nketiah
- 17Cédric Soares
- 19Trossard
- 20Jorginho
- 24Nelson
- 25Elneny
- 35Zinchenko
- 76Walters
Live Text
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Second Half ends, Luton Town 3, Arsenal 4.
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Goal! Luton Town 3, Arsenal 4. Declan Rice (Arsenal) header from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Martin Ødegaard with a cross.
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Leandro Trossard (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Issa Kaboré (Luton Town).
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Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Chiedozie Ogbene.
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Attempt blocked. Leandro Trossard (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
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Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Gabriel Osho.
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Offside, Arsenal. Kai Havertz is caught offside.
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Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Chiedozie Ogbene (Luton Town).
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Substitution, Luton Town. Ryan Giles replaces Alfie Doughty.
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Substitution, Luton Town. Jordan Clark replaces Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu.
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Attempt missed. Leandro Trossard (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Martin Ødegaard following a corner.
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Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Thomas Kaminski.
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Attempt missed. Kai Havertz (Arsenal) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Oleksandr Zinchenko.
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Attempt blocked. Declan Rice (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Martin Ødegaard.
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Leandro Trossard (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Foul by Issa Kaboré (Luton Town).
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Attempt missed. Leandro Trossard (Arsenal) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Kai Havertz.
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