By Dan Harrison

It was always going to take something special to halt Villa's eight-game unbeaten run - and a match-winning cameo from Cesc Fabregas was just that.

Anyone of claret and blue persuasion may have breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that the Arsenal skipper - an injury doubt before kick-off - had only been named as a substitute.

But as long as Fabregas was ready for action, he remained a threat to Villa.

So it proved, as a fleeting appearance from the Spaniard saw him score twice to condemn Martin O'Neill's men to their first-ever loss at the Emirates Stadium.

By the time Fabregas left the field again on 84 minutes, the points were virtually secure, although there was still time for Abou Diaby to slot home a third.

Up until the stunning 65th minute deadlock breaker, Villa had looked good value for a share of the spoils.

Arsenal's brand of football has earned them the tag of 'pass-masters' down the years, and while they threatened Villa with some intricate play early on, the visitors defended stoutly.

Stephen Warnock was forced to clear from his own goalmouth when Samir Nasri's free-kick dropped at the feet of Eduardo in the opening minutes, and Denilson rifled an effort over from the edge of the box.

After withstanding that early pressure, Villa pressed forward and went close through Emile Heskey. The striker - who recovered from a groin injury to take his place in the line-up - shot wide after being teed up by Gabby Agbonlahor.

Ashley Young and Carlos Cuellar sliced efforts off target for Villa, before Cuellar was called into action at the other end to get a key touch on Nasri's volley.

The Gunners began to take control after the break. A Nasri corner caused havoc in the Villa box and Cuellar had to clear off the line to keep out William Gallas. Bar the odd routine save, there had been relatively little for Friedel to contend with until the 61st minute, when his brilliant one-handed stop denied Andrei Arshavin.

Having survived that scare, however, Villa could do little about Fabregas's threat. The substitute won a free-kick around 25 yards from goal and stepped up to expertly curl it over the wall to make the breakthrough.

Villa searched for a way back and despite enjoying a sustained spell of pressure, they were hit on the counter-attack on 81 minutes.

Another Gunners substitute, Theo Walcott broke clear down the right and Fabregas raced on to his pass to slot a second past Friedel.

To their credit, the claret and blues refused to throw-in the towel, their best chance coming when Agbonlahor made the most of a one-on-one situation with Gallas, only for Manuel Almunia to charge him down.

But in the final minute, Diaby found space on the edge of the Villa area to slot a precise low shot into the bottom corner.